COMO | October 2021

OCTOB ER 2021 | T HE NO NPRO FI T ISSU E | A PU B L ICATION OF TH E B U SIN E SS TIM E S COM PAN Y

COLUMBIA'S GIVING SPIRIT La Toya Stevens, Andrew Grabau, and Adonica Coleman of Heart of Missouri United Way's COMO Chopped

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EV ERY C H I L D D E SE R VE S A VOICE .

L END Y O U RS. Heart of Missouri CASA reached record-breaking milestones in 2020-2021. We served 367 children with 179 powerful advocates. These advocates are community members just like you. Although the number of children in the system continues to grow, our vision remains the same: To serve 100% of the children who need us. www.homcasa.org

In 2020 94%

of our volunteers’ recommendations were ordered or accepted by the judge.

Want to learn more about becoming a CASA? Scan the QR code below.

97%

of the cases we helped close ended in permanent homes, either reunited with family or adopted by relatives or non-relatives.

100%

of children with a CASA remained free from re-abuse while in foster care.

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OCTOBER 2021

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Letter from the Publisher

Get in the Game

T

he theme of this issue is a hot button for me. I love the heart Columbia has for the people of our community. If you don’t think this is true, then you aren’t putting any skin in the game. If a person gets involved by donating their time, talent, and treasure to the social issues of our community, then you can’t help but notice the thousands of people tirelessly giving of themselves in all ways.

Nothing proves this more than the way we rallied together to pull our non-profits through the horrible last 18 months of the pandemic.

Non-profit organizations that rely heavily on the generosity of our community for operating funds went into the pandemic with heightened requests for services and a fear that funds would be diminishing. The executive directors that I've talked to all have confirmed that their needs were amply met.

There are so many issues to focus on that it can become overwhelming. Affordable housing, food insecurity, transportation, education, workforce development, safety and security, even pets! My heart has been broken over and over by stories of those that go without and are hurting. The desperately poor in our city struggle to figure out how to feed and clothe their children. The refugees running from terrors we couldn’t imagine that struggle even more because they can’t speak English. Do you know who sees everyone across all spectrums? Columbia Public Schools. The answers to many of our social issues, in my opinion, lie directly in the heart of equipping our public education system with more resources. Education isn’t just about throwing caps and getting degrees. It’s not even about whether or not to wear masks. It’s about so much more than that. Education is about helping people learn to thrive and change family legacies.

People need to be able to work, they need to be able to have transportation to that work,

SOMETHING WICKEDLY CUTE THIS WAY COMES…

and they need an affordable place to live while they do so. But these aren’t problems that are fixed quickly. These are problems that need to be addressed systematically. I know that the citizens of Columbia are smart enough to do this. The answers lie in what we can all do together. Can you imagine if we had more counselors assigned to fewer children? What about more advocates that work directly with families stuck in the judicial system so no one is left alone?

This is one of the reasons that I love our United Way so much. United Way has the ability to be a convener for all organizations working to improve in all of these areas.

Not only do they help raise funds and awareness for dozens of entities each year, but they also work on capacity building for staff and boards. They work on creating and implementing metric systems to ensure that each of the funded organizations are being effective in meeting their stated goals and objectives. And, where some may fall short, they surround them with the help and structure they need to improve. Lastly, they can see from a 30,000 foot view where overlap exists and where the holes exist.

In closing, I urge you to find the thing that you get passionate about. Is it kids? Is it animals? Is it our veterans? Find that thing, and give all you have to it. Your efforts will be felt by our community. Don’t know what that is yet? Maybe the heroes receiving our Impact COMO awards this year can inspire you.

And if you want the 17,422 words I had to cut on this topic, email me at erica@ comomag.com

Halloween is right around the corner, and that means delightfully spooky shenanigans are on the way. With two young kiddos, my favorite part is seeing their transformation into whatever character, ghoul, or animal they choose to be. So far we’ve had a ghost, Mickey Mouse, an astronaut, a cat, Batman, The Flash, a penguin, Catboy and Gekko, a Power Ranger, Miles from "Tomorrowland," and Blodger — though I might be forgetting a few. What’s been your favorite costume?

—Kate Morrow, Graphic Designer

ON THE COVER Andrew Grabau, Adonica Coleman, and La Toya Stevens representing Heart of Missouri United Way. They are the recipients of Impact COMO 2021's Most Impactful Event/Fundraiser, CoMo Chopped. Pg. 74 Photo by Anthony Jinson

OCTOB E R 202 1 | T H E N ON PR OF I T I S S U E | A PU B L I CATI O N O F TH E B U S I N E S S TI M E S CO M PA N Y

All my best,

ERICA PEFFERMAN PUBLISHER

COLUMBIA'S GIVING SPIRIT La Toya Stevens, Andrew Grabau, and Adonica Coleman of Heart of Missouri United Way's COMO Chopped

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ON T HEM E

What is the biggest need in our community?

Photo by Carly Buntin Photography

Dr. Ashley Emel DC, CACCP, Webster Certified

Larry McDaniel Impact COMO 2020

Michele Towns Impact COMO 2018

Ann Merrifield Impact COMO 2019

Kim Ambra Editor

We need to help people get closer to their needs. If you do see needs in your neighbors and community and don’t know how to give, ask questions, make phone calls. People need your help.

Your help can be gifts of time, money, or expertise.

Not everyone can be a foster parent, but everyone can help a child in foster care.

Our community needs to continue to strive to provide safety, understanding, and kindness to all children and families in Boone County. These past 18 months have been a struggle, and small ways to encourage and lift others up are more important than ever.

We need mentors to help our youth bridge the achievement gap that has occurred due to COVID. Studies show our youth falling behind in both reading and math. And it’s not just academics – mentoring helps with children’s mental health as well.

Understanding. The understanding that we are all different.

The understanding that in the end we all want what is best for our children and our community, but that we all have different viewpoints on how to get there, and that is OK!

Dr. Jennifer Sutherland DC, FASA

2516 Forum Blvd. #102 (573) 445-4444 compass-chiropractic.com

s n o i t a l u t Congra to the

2021

The services our nonprofits provide throughout the year

award recipients!

MOST IMPACTFUL VOLUNTEER

Dr. Ellis Ingram MOST IMPACTFUL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Elizabeth Herrera Eichenberger MOST IMPACTFUL STAFF MEMBER

Kerrie Bloss

MOST IMPACTFUL BOARD MEMBER

Eric Morrison

MOST IMPACTFUL FUNDRAISER /EVENT

maintains the health and stability of the Columbia area.

At Joe Machens Toyota, we are proud to sponsor Impact

COMO Chopped

Como, and honor the

MOST IMPACTFUL PHILANTHROPIC COMPANY

daily efforts of our

UScellular

nonprofit sector.

Visit our community page by scanning the code on the right to see how Joe Machens Toyota generously helps the community every month.

18

OCTOBER 2021

IN THIS ISSUE

25 ARTS & CULTURE Candice Malveaux discusses how Orr Street Studios is giving artists opportunities through the Black Artist in Residence Program.

O C TOBER 2021 | The Nonprofit Issue

15

35

WORKING

FEATURES

Publisher’s Letter

GUEST VOICES The Masonic Home of Missouri

85

63

LIVING 25 ART & CULTURE

37 HOMES A Home of Love

Art Is Healing

27 PET FRIENDLY

43 GOURMET Growth through Service

Saving Columbia’s Cats

29 WELLNESS

57 FAVORITE FINDS Fresh Finds

Bravely Going Where the Need Is

60

31

FRIENDS & FAMILY A Homecoming

TARA TALKS

33 GUEST VOICES Alex George: Skylarking

77 COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW Mike & Rockie Alden

CLOSER LOOK

86

BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

89

IMPACT COMO Celebrating the people and places that faithfully serve our city.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

90

CELEBRATIONS Who Runs the Business World? Women, That’s Who.

101

COMBINED EFFORTS

92

Columbia nonprofits work together in supporting our community.

97

109

VOICES: BUSINESS UPDATE Finding the Good Notes

PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW La Toya Stevens

114

THIS OR THAT Valorie Livingston

NOT AN ISLAND The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter brings people together with one message: You are not alone.

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Living

25

37

ART IS HEALING

A HOME OF LOVE

IMPACT COMO

Candice Malveaux discusses how Orr Street Studios is giving artists opportunities through the Black Artist in Residence Program.

After 30 years of helping children, Coyote Hill looks to the future.

Celebrating the people and places that faithfully serve our city.

63

22

OCTOBER 2021

COMOMAG.COM

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Living

Art Is Healing Candice Malveaux discusses how Orr Street Studios is giving artists opportunities through the Black Artist in Residence Program.

BY JULES N. GRAEBNER | PHOTO BY KEITH BORGMEYER

I

t seems unbelievable now, but a life of creative passions was not always something artist Candice Malveaux saw in her cards.

However, after spending the past year as a working artist through Orr Street Studios’ Black Artist in Residence Program, Candice can say that she is never looking back.

“It’s kind of a crazy story, but I feel like it was destiny,” Candice says.

The day after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, an unknown person spray-painted the simple message “BLACK LIVES MATTER” on Orr Street Studios’ iconic teal brick wall. The directors of the gallery had little time to respond before the original statement was defaced with a distortion of the original message, adding the words “RED, YELLOW, WHITE, ALL.” After covering the later additions multiple times, the vandals continued a back-and-forth with the directors of the art studio.

Finally, Orr Street Studios released the notice that they had left for the vandals, saying: “The message ‘Black Lives Matter’ will remain on our wall as we mourn recent acts of violence against Black Americans and protesters and consider how to use this space to help heal our community. Please leave it alone.”

“I thought that was pretty impactful,” says Candice, who had watched the whole saga play out on Facebook. “I made a comment [on the post] and said something like, ‘That’s all great and dandy, it would be awesome to see Orr Street find a way to support Black artists.’”

Orr Street Studios took that comment to heart, and the Black Artist in Residence Program was born. Candice was interested, but she wasn’t too sure at first. “There was a constant flow of people on social media urging me to apply,” she said. “But where I was in my art journey — I’m a self-taught artist, so I still kind of struggled with calling myself an artist — I didn’t immediately apply.”

Candice eventually sent in her application a week before it was due, not thinking she’d make the cut. However, she did, and Candice

became a part of the program's inaugural class, along with fellow artist Askia Bilal.

Candice says she always had a love for art, remembering how her grandmother had sacrificed a lot to invest in her dreams by enrolling her in local art classes. Unfortunately, as Candice got older, those dreams fell to the wayside.

“The belief is that artists starve,” she laughs.

She eventually became a special education teacher. “I needed to make sure, as a first-generation college student, that I became something that would be able to sustain me and my family for the future.”

ART & CULTURE

But Candice’s passion for art never went away, and she often sketched and journaled as an emotional outlet. She received lots of support via social media, but never considered herself an artist until her lifelong friend, Nicole Wells, went out of her way. Nicole encouraged her to chase her dreams and redefine her life, even going so far as to create professional business cards, pins, cups, and notebooks with Candice’s artist name on them so she could envision herself as an artist. Candice says that this was a defining moment for her career, and she hasn’t looked back since.

“I never pursued art as a way to make money,” Candice says. “It was always a way to help me and to help others heal.”

Candice is grateful to have the opportunity to live her dreams and hopes that she inspires others to do the same. She says: “I am just on such a high from it all. I hope that I can show kids — Black kids that look like me, that grew up the way that I did — that anything is possible.”

See Candice Malveaux’s art on Instagram @artbycandicenicole

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Living

PET FRIENDLY

Saving Columbia’s Cats Boone County Animal Care’s TNR program helps keep the cat population healthy.

BY JESSICA JAINC HI L L

A

n encroaching population of cats has been growing in Columbia in recent years. Fortunately, Boone County Animal Care’s Trap, Neuter, and Return program, or TNR, has come up with a humane way to treat this problem.

Diann Stelzer, the program’s coordinator and the person who fi rst spearheaded the TNR program seven years ago, says, “The [program’s] purpose is to spay and neuter animals so that we can decrease the cat population in our community.”

By making it harder for cats to reproduce, TNR not only cuts down on the population, but it also cuts into the diseases cats spread to one another.

“Honestly, I don’t think a cat is happy getting pregnant three times a year. Even though happiness is a human emotion — who wants to be pregnant three times a year?” Diann says. “So animals that we come across, not only do we just trap them, fi x them, and let them go, but we will treat them for fleas and worms. When that animal is released from us, it is healthier than when we got it. And it’s fi xed, [so] it’s not going to spread disease.”

To be more effective, the TNR program goes after cats that are in most need.

“We do tend to go after animals that are sick, and part of the reason for that is they are not going to survive outside anyway,” Diann says.

Though this method might sound like TNR might accidentally pick up some cats with owners, cat owners need not worry.

Diann and her workers usually get their calls from people who have noticed sick cats or cats that are obviously feral.

Diann says, “We only go out and trap cats that we are requested to trap, and these are

[calls from] people who have been feeding the cat for a long time. Generally they know if it’s a neighbor’s cat. . . . We don’t just go out to any neighborhood and pick up cats.”

Thus far, the TNR program has helped the Columbia community in multiple ways.

Diann says that the program: “Keeps the cat population under control so that people who are bird lovers don’t have to worry about the birds being affected. . . . Cats that are sterilized lose their urge to fight. If they’re not fighting, they’re not spreading [disease]. If you sterilize them, they’re more likely to stay in one place than to roam in large areas.”

Besides cutting down the feral cat population, TNR has also worked with Papa’s Cat Café to fi nd homes for cats.

“Back when Papa’s Cat Café started, they asked us if we would be their partner group, so we actually manage all the cats in the café,” Diann says. “I believe, as of today, we’ve adopted 420 cats through Papa’s Cat Café. They’re like a large foster home for us, so they can have between 20 and 25 cats. . . .

People come into the cafe, and they can spend an hour with the cat. That’s very wonderful because cats tend to choose people rather than the other way around. If you go in with an open mind, it can be very surprising which cat picks a person.”

Though the TNR program hopes to expand its progress and has many ways for volunteers to help cats and the Columbia community, Diann believes the best way to reduce the problems feral cats bring is for Columbians to take a deeper responsibility for their pets.

She says, “I know it would be really helpful for all of Columbia if people would get their own pets spayed and neutered.”

“When that animal is released from us, it is healthier than when we got it. And it’s fixed, [so] it’s not going to spread disease.”

— Diann Stelzer

COMOMAG.COM

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OCTOBER 2021

Living

Bravely Going Where the Need Is Global First Responders make lasting change worldwide.

BY JENNIFER TRUESDALE

“Voluntourism” is a vacation in which you volunteer wherever you visit. You might hike Australia and then help out at an animal sanctuary while you’re there, for example. This is not what a trip with Global First Responders is. A mere 10 to 12 skilled volunteers can build a school in just seven to 10 days. It’s not a vacation, but rather a unique opportunity to experience the world and help in a way no travel agency is likely to offer.

“We do short-term trips, like maybe a week or 10 days, so we’re not always in the field like Doctors Without Borders, though we’d like to be someday,” explains GFR founder Dr. Adam Beckett. “Plus we have volunteers from all different skill sets, including teaching, construction, solar engineering, and electrical, and we can combine efforts and go in to do everything we can to improve the lives of the communities we serve.”

Founded in 2013 in Columbia, Global First Responders is a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit that sends teams of volunteers to countries all over the world, usually going to places hit hard by natural disasters or where basic needs are not being met. Adam, a 48-yearold Columbia native, is the director of international medicine and adjunct professor of emergency medicine at MU, as well as an

attending physician at the Harry S Truman VA Hospital. Adam completed his bachelor’s degree in biology at MU, where he had a pretty good idea that he wanted to go to medical school, but he first went into the Marine Corps after graduation, as his family has a long legacy of military service.

From 1995 to 1999, he served in infantry and traveled the world with a unit whose mission was to train the militaries of other countries. It was while in the Marines that Adam fell in love not only with travelling, but with field work helping others in out-of-the-way places. After his service, he attended medical school at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and then completed his residency in emergency medicine in Chicago before returning home to Columbia.

“The ER was something I was always interested in. It’s fast-paced — you see anything and everything. That was my calling,” Adam says. “It’s been really advantageous in doing international work, because when we get up to these different environments, we see all sorts of things. Emergency medicine really helps you have a skill set to deal with a variety of different situations and ailments.”

Following the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010, Adam and a col-

WELLNESS

league who is a critical care medic, started taking trips there, unaffiliated with any organization, to help wherever they could. By 2013, Adam decided it was time to form his own response organization, and GFR was born.

Though the nonprofit was founded by a doctor, the volunteers who go on the trips come from all backgrounds and assist in a variety of ways, not just medically. Helping to build or rebuild infrastructure, as well as medical outreach, is a goal of most trips.

GFR has also helped out domestically, sending teams to Iowa in 2020 following the destructive derecho, as well as to Louisiana following the deadly hurricane season.

“One of our successes has been partnering with other nonprofits, which allows us to get into areas where other groups wouldn’t be allowed,” Adam says. “[Nonprofits] that are local to the country and trusted have opened their doors to us.”

Part of that strategy is the result of the fundamental nature of GFR: “We’re a secular organization,” Adam says. “One of the hallmarks of our organization is no politics, no religion, no preaching. We’re here to serve others . It’s very clear: no agenda other than to serve others.

We’ve been able to get into more places [when they] know we’re not coming with an agenda.”

Each trip takes about a year-and-a-half to plan, and COVID-19 has hampered some travel. Volunteers pay their own airfare and lodging, while GFR pays for all the supplies needed wherever they’re going.

To finish out 2021, GFR is planning trips to South Africa and Nepal. 2022 will see trips back to Haiti to complete additions to the school and hospital they had previously built, as well as trips to Liberia, India, Peru, and Zimbabwe.

Each trip will include health outreach, which sometimes includes offering training to local medical professionals. GFR also works with sustainability in mind, installing solar panels when possible, for example.

In the future, Adam says GFR wants to expand what they can offer educationally beyond health care, like agricultural education to help communities make the most of their environments. Solar engineering, water purification, and building schools, clinics, and sustainable infrastructure will continue to be on the list of goals. Anyone who is interested in going on a trip to help can visit the GFR website at globalfirstresponder.org.

According to Adam, “We're an aggressive group, and we've got a lot of plans to help out.”

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29

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OCTOBER 2021

What are your thoughts on using medication for mental health problems?

I feel like some therapists jump to that option too quickly. How do you know when someone could benefit from medication versus therapy alone?

O

ooh, these are loaded questions, and I love them. I’ll preface this entire thing with a disclaimer that these are my personal thoughts on medication and mental health. It would be entirely asinine of me to speak for other professions and/or all the folks within my own profession. With that said, my general thoughts on medication for mental health problems are as follows: 1. Medication can be functional. 2. I feel neutral about it. 3. I tend to treat it as a last resort given my profession and my client preferences.

First, medication can be functional. Medication helps alleviate symptoms, and thus it serves a function of relieving people of some sort of pain or helping to regulate some dysfunction they’re experiencing. (We’re talking about mental health medication, just to be super clear.) In some cases, it helps people to focus. In others, it helps people to, quite literally, function on a daily basis. Further still, it helps people to regulate their emotional and mental stability. Let’s not conflate medication with the elixir of life or anything, but for quite a few people, it serves very specific functions.

Of course, there are issues with medication, but we have neither the time nor space to get into those right now.

Second, I feel neutral about it. Medication is one avenue for mental health treatment. Much to the dismay of people who do want a quick fi x, medication doesn’t “fi x” a problem, it helps treat the symptoms. So, from my vantage point, it’s a tool. And if it’s a tool, then it’s just a tool.

I don’t feel strongly one way or the other about having a hammer, do I? Nope. I use it when I need it, and then I use other tools when I need them.

Medication can be thought of in a similar way.

Th ird, I tend to treat it as a last resort given my profession and my client preferences. Th is third point is very specific to the clientele my group serves, the set-up of my business, and the training I’ve received. Medication is always an option, but when folks come in to see me, they’re generally interested in talk therapy (or couples therapy, since that’s my specialty) and aren’t thinking about medication. There’s an implication that if you’re going to talk therapy, then you probably want to talk. If you were going to see a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner, the implication would be that you’re interested in medication. My point is this. It is something that I bring up when other options have been exhausted or if the client’s symptoms are so severe that they’re getting in the way of functioning.

Let’s shift to your second point, which is that therapists jump to medication too quickly. Honestly, I think this is just dependent on the therapist. My preference, given that I don’t prescribe and wasn’t trained explicitly in the medical model, is to bring medication up when client functioning is an issue or when we’ve exhausted all other options. And even at that point, I’m going to tread lightly and spend as much time as the client needs talking about their thoughts, feelings, preferences, experiences, biases, and fears about medication. And I’ll only do this after asking if they even have any interest in talking about it. If they decide they’re interested, then I’d refer them to a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

Other therapists’ preferences might be to lay out every option at once. The question is whether they’re doing this in a way that is putting medication on a pedestal or laying it out like the hammer it is while making sure to include the screwdriver, drill, pliers, and wrench (read: giving you all the tools needed to make a decision). Throwing it out there as one option can make sense and is probably more about therapist style or situation (e.g., place of work can influence discussions and takes on medication).

The last question is the hardest, because it depends on the person. If a friend told me they were thinking about medication for anxiety, but then went further to disclose big traumas in their life that they’ve never talked about with anybody, then I’d probably recommend that they talk with a trauma-focused therapist. If this friend couldn’t function or was in significant emotional pain, then I might suggest doing both medication and talk therapy, with the plan to wean off medication once some of that trauma had been processed (if they wanted to). If a friend told me they’ve done talk therapy for years and it’s been helpful, but they still can’t sleep at night, then I might suggest going straight to a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner. I could keep going, but I’ll spare you.

Ultimately, the decision to take medication or engage in talk therapy (or do both) is entirely specific to the person asking. For me, it comes down to a person feeling informed and grounded with their decision while also having the space to process said decision when, if, and how it’s needed. And, like most things in life (and in therapy), there is no one right way. The right way is more about a way of being so that you feel in alignment with your values, solid in your decision, and as though you’re acting in integrity with yourself. That’s what really matters.

“Medication doesn’t ‘fix’ a problem, it helps treat the symptoms.

So, from my vantage point, it’s a tool.”

Tara Vossenkemper is the founder and owner of The Counseling Hub. She practices Gottman Method Couples Therapy.

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BOOKS, ETC.

Skylarking Skylark's October Book Club Book: "The Hive," by Melissa Scholes Young

BY ALEX GEORGE, SKYLARK BOOKSHOP OWNER

I would hate to sell socks.

Not that I have anything against socks, of course — I quite like socks, now that I come to think about it, especially in Missouri during the winter — but I can’t help thinking that selling them would become a little boring after a while. I mean, a sock basically does one thing, which is to cover your foot.

Books, on the other hand (or foot) do a ton of different things. They can entertain, amuse, instruct, inform, educate, thrill, and mystify, or any combination of the above. They can provide escape, comfort, and hope. They can fire you up or chill you out. Open up a book and you open up a whole new world. As some guy called Stephen King once said, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”

The other wonderful thing about selling books (as opposed to socks) is that there are literally hundreds of new books for us to talk about every week. Look at Skylark’s Instagram feed on Tuesday mornings (most books are published on Tuesdays) and you’ll see a huge array of new titles. And because we curate our inventory so carefully, we just choose a small selection to stock — the ones we love, and those that are the best fit for the shop. Hundreds of thousands of titles are published every year, and when you factor in independently published (or self-published) books, the number skyrockets still further. Truly, it is a wonderful time to be a reader.

When it comes to new releases, fall is perhaps the richest time of the year for bibliophiles. This is traditionally the season when the “biggest” books are published — the mega-sellers and the titles that the publishing industry is most excited about. This year is no exception. There are many fantastic books that we’re looking forward to discussing with you and putting into your hands.

When it comes to choosing books for the Skylarking book club, it’s tempting to choose the titles that everyone is already talking about. But I’ve always thought that one of the key words — perhaps the key word — when it comes to independent bookstores is “discovery.” Every bookstore is different, because each shop reflects its community and its customers.

What you find on the front tables in a bookshop in Maine will be different from one in Southern California.

To honor and celebrate that difference, we’ve made a change to our previously announced selection for October. We’re proud of our Missouri roots here at Skylark, and we know many of our customers are, too. So our next choice is Melissa Scholes Young’s new novel, “The Hive.” Melissa lives in Washington, DC, these days, but she is Missouri-born and -bred, as her fiction proudly bears witness. Some of you may remember Melissa when she came to Columbia for the Unbound Book Festival a few years ago to talk about her gorgeous debut novel, “Flood,” which is set in Hannibal. “The Hive” is also set in Missouri, this time in Cape Girardeau. It’s a wonderful novel, crackling with life and with beautifully drawn characters.

The Fehler family have owned and run a pest control business for generations, but the recession of 2008 has hit the company hard. When the head of the business and the family, Robbie Fehler, dies unexpectedly, his widow and four daughters face challenges on multiple fronts simultaneously: Not only must they find a way to keep the business alive, but they also each have to carve out new paths for themselves and find ways to break free of expectations, both their own and those of other people.

This is a messy, big-hearted novel that does not shy away from the difficulties that the surviving Fehler women face. Indeed, it is Scholes Young’s willingness to confront and document these individual journeys, however uncomfortable, that gives this novel such heart and grace.

There’s an interesting political element to the story, too. Cape Girardeau, of course, is Rush Limbaugh’s hometown, and the novel is set at the time of Barack Obama’s election to the Presidency. As a working-class family suffering through the worst of the economic downturn, the conflicts and disagreements that the family have to navigate between themselves feel like a telling precursor of the divi-

GUEST VOICE

sions that have afflicted many families in the years since.

In addition to her two novels, Melissa has edited two anthologies of new writing by DC women writers. She is a contributing editor at Fiction Writers Review, and her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Ploughshares, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. She has been the recipient of the Bread Loaf Bakeless Camargo Foundation Residency Fellowship and the Center for Mark Twain Studies’ Quarry Farm Fellowship. She is currently an associate professor in literature at American University. She will be joining us via Zoom to answer readers’ questions. It’s going to be wonderful discussion. As usual, all you need to come and join us is to purchase the book from Skylark, either in person or online. We’ll meet in the shop (health considerations permitting) at 6:30 on Thursday, October 28.

Happy reading, and I hope to see you there!

Alex George is the founder and director of the Unbound Book Festival and the owner of Skylark Bookshop in downtown Columbia.

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GUEST VOICE

The Masonic Home of Missouri Missouri Freemasonry’s best kept secret.

BY JODI BL AKE

E

stablished in 1886, the Masonic Home of Missouri continues to be one of the bestkept secrets of Missouri Freemasonry — a trend worth breaking.

With headquarters located in Columbia since 2000, the Masonic Home operates multiple Outreach Programs statewide. Through programs ranging from financial assistance to resources and recognition, the Masonic Home attempts to meet the needs of the Missouri Masonic Family. Some programs, however, reach outside the Masonic community and are available for individuals not affiliated with the fraternity, specifically children.

One such program is the Creating-A-Partnership Program. Here, the Masonic Home partners with Masonic lodges and Eastern Star chapters throughout the state, matching funds to provide for children in local communities. Tens of thousands of children have received necessities like winter clothing, school supplies, hygiene products, eyeglasses, and food, among other things.

The lodges or chapters within the community identify the need, often through the local school or another nonprofit, then work with the Masonic Home to provide for the needs of the children. The program can benefit individual children or groups of children through project-based funding for things like Buddy Backpack Programs.

This assistance is confidential. The Masonic Home, lodges, and chapters do not receive identifying information about the children.

Locally, the Masonic Home partnered with Acacia-Twilight Lodge to pay off over $10,000 in past due lunch balances for students in Columbia Public Schools. Later partnerships with the lodge helped fund the new playground at

With headquarters located in Columbia since 2000, the Masonic Home operates multiple Outreach Programs statewide.

Rainbow House, and previous partnerships provided for local schoolchildren year after year through programs like Bikes for Books.

Effective July 1, 2021, the Masonic Home increased its matching funds to a level that would make it possible for any individual lodge or chapter to provide up to $45,000 in funds for children in their community.

Children deserve to have warm winter clothing to combat the bitter Missouri winters, to have their basic necessities met, and to reliably have access to food during the weekends. The Masonic Home, alongside lodges and chapters, strives to make this a reality for all Missouri children.

Throughout the history of Missouri Freemasonry, education has been a constant theme.

Past Grand Master Thomas Riddick lobbied Washington for a land grant for public schools in Missouri and succeeded in 1817.

Masons helped make the University of Missouri a reality, too. PGM John D. Vincil, an orphan himself and a champion for the Masonic Home, served on the MU Board of Curators from 1871 to 1874 and again from 1897 to 1904.

At the Grand Lodge’s annual meeting in 1875, PGM John C. Ralls introduced the resolution to create the Masonic Home to provide

a suitable and healthy home for Masonic widows and orphans. The Masonic Home ensured the children living there received a solid education, including post-secondary education.

Fast forward to 2003, with the start of the Creating-A-Partnership Program, and to 2008, with the creation of the Masonic Museum.

In 2017, the Masonic Home added an interactive display to the Masonic Museum that guides the viewer through the creation of the Grand Lodge of Missouri and the State of Missouri, which occurred simultaneously and with the support of many of the same individuals — Masons.

The Masonic Museum includes notable Missouri figures, from Lewis and Clark to Harry S. Truman, and is an excellent source of education for youth and adults alike. Located at 6033 Masonic Dr., the Masonic Museum is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. when the Complex is open.

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After 30 years of helping children, Coyote Hill looks to the future.

BY JENNIFER TRUESDALE | PHOTOS BY KEITH BORGMEYER

"The dream is to see a day when there are more foster homes than foster children."

-Bill Atherton, COO of Coyote Hill

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OCTOBER 2021

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A

bout 30 minutes northwest of Columbia, nestled in the rolling hills of western Boone County, is the village of Harrisburg, population 226. Harrisburg is home to the sprawling 300 acres that comprise Coyote Hill Christian Children’s Home, a peaceful haven for some of Mid-Missouri’s foster families that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Here, foster parents live on the premises with their foster children in either one of seven large residences or one duplex. They do not pay for rent, utilities, groceries, or the children’s health care, allowing them to focus on being full-time foster parents.

Established in 1991, Coyote Hill is the realization of founder Larry McDaniel’s dream. Larry and his wife, Cathy, wanted to provide a safe, healthy place for more foster children to heal and grow than they could care for at their own home, which was originally seven miles north of the property. Larry, a licensed social worker, saw the need for a professional “home of love” that could offer the nurturing that foster children needed beyond food, shelter, and clothing — “a safe place to be a child,” which would become their motto. Coyote Hill is the only state-licensed children’s home in Mid-Missouri and one of just a few in the state.

Understanding the Need As of June, there were more than 14,000 Missouri children in foster care, according to the Missouri Department of Social Services, whose children's division is responsible for substantiating reports of abuse and neglect and placing children in foster care. In 2020, the number of Missouri children entering foster care increased by double digits in every region except Southwest Missouri, probably due in large part to COVID-19 — as the pandemic ravaged the economy, jobs were lost, the opioid crisis raged, and families lost the supports needed to keep themselves whole.

HOMES

Rural Missouri is the largest source of children entering foster care. At Coyote Hill, the average age of the foster children is 10, and their average length of stay is nine to 10 months.

Reunifying foster children with their biological families is always the primary goal, but sometimes that's not a possibility, in which case the children go up for adoption.

For Bill Atherton, the soft-spoken, gentle-natured, COO of Coyote Hill, the dream is to see a day when there are “more foster homes than foster children.” Bill and his wife, Tammy, were newlyweds in their early 20s when they decided to change the course of their lives forever by coming on as foster parents at Coyote Hill in 1994. Tammy was working on her PhD in biochemistry and Bill was working in microbiology when they found their fields to be unfulfilling.

“We started looking around at professors and families, and everyone just seemed . . . sad,” Bill remembers reflectively. “Families weren’t intact — it seemed like an epidemic within that field. Everything was so dollar-driven.”

In 1995, they had heard Larry talk on the radio about how badly Coyote Hill needed tutors and decided that this was why God had provided them with such great education. What was supposed to be a 30-minute interview to become tutors turned into an hours-long conversation and tour that concluded with Larry telling the couple they should be house parents.

Bill and Tammy talked it over and decided to go for it. That was a Thursday, and by that Sunday evening, they were moving in.

The couple started with six foster children, and within a few weeks, they were maxed out with eight. One of the residences is named for the Athertons, who fostered more than 40 children over about 10 years in addition to having four kids of their own. In Coyote Hill’s 30 years, Bill has served as foster parent, site coordinator, development director, and now COO. Lance and Abby Rainwater are current foster parents living in one

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of the residences with foster children. They've been married for 10 years and have fostered for the last four. While Lance still works, Abby says the resources Coyote Hill provides allowed her to quit working and be a full-time parent. They started with three fosters and then took another five. Abby says there is heartbreak in fostering because you learn about the traumas each child has endured.

“But where there’s heartbreak, there can be healing,” she says. “[Fostering] is such a joy and an accomplishment filled with love.”

The Feeling of Home Each bungalow-style residence is 5,800 square feet with eight bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Each boasts a spacious front porch, which can usually be found decorated with toys and children’s shoes. A moderately sized living room opens into a kitchen with a 12-foot island and a 12-foot table, both adorned on all sides with chairs, giving an immediate impression of how many people gather there and the kind of space needed to do so. Bedrooms are grouped at each end of a long hallway. They’re specifically designed to house groups of siblings, as 80% of the children who come to Coyote Hill come with siblings. Finding foster homes that can accommodate sibling groups is a major challenge in foster care, but it’s very important when it comes to helping children heal from the trauma that brought them there in the first place. Each residence includes an attached two-story apartment, which the foster parents can use as they wish. (Some use it to accommodate more fosters.) The lower level boasts a recreation room for older kids and a play space for younger kids. A large kitchen pantry and two sets of washers, dryers, and refrigerators round out each home. Outside, each home has its own elementary-school-sized playground and a basketball court, and there are soccer and baseball fields on the property.

The seven homes are clustered together on the property, not far from one of two large lakes and a therapeutic equine center. The lake is complete with an inflatable trampoline and slide, and on a summer evening, children can be found riding their bikes to the lake, dutifully strapping on their life jackets, and jumping in.

There is a summer camp feel to the place. The other lake is accessible by hiking or horseback riding through the woods by trail. Horseback riding is an option because the equine center is home to 22 horses — including four miniature horses —that the families can ride for free.

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OCTOBER 2021

The Rainwater Family: Janelle, Lance, Abby, and Tuliyah (back, left to right) and Martwon (f ront)

Living

HOMES

The equine center includes a large pole barn with 14 stables and a large indoor arena where children can learn to ride and train in horsemanship and equitation for horse shows. Older children are entrusted with the complete care of their horse, which teaches responsibility. Rebecca Buchholz-Szántó, the full-time equestrian specialist, says that working with horses is therapeutic for children, as having control over a large animal builds confidence. Therapeutic horseback riding has also been found to significantly decrease PTSD, which is why Coyote Hill also has an equine program for combat veterans.

A Look Ahead In January 2020, Coyote Hill launched its foster care services program, which provides training and licensure to couples and individuals who wish to become foster parents off site. Bill says this is a big step toward the dream of being a hub for foster and adoptive families beyond Harrisburg. For example, off-site foster families can utilize the equine center, lake, and campground free of charge. Expansion offices that offer support services have opened in Moberly and Columbia, and just last year they opened a residence in Jefferson City that houses up to six children.

“The longevity of foster parents on site is about two years, and then we started identifying families out there who have been fostering for years,” Bill says. “What’s different there?

They know how the system works, they’re problem-solvers. Just this year, we switched our model from ‘hiring’ foster parents to come live in the homes to as others leave. [Now] we’ll identify foster families in the community who would want to be here and live life here.”

To help new foster parents, Coyote Hill also added a family advocate program, in which a trained staff member “walks the journey” with the foster parent to help them navigate the unknowns that new foster parents encounter, which hopefully will increase their longevity.

Ultimately, Coyote Hill would like to open other residential sites with on-site recreation activities throughout the state to serve the overwhelming need for foster homes.

“Be brave,” Abby says to anyone considering becoming a foster parent. “Fostering can be a little daunting, but it’s with it. Every stress, every tear, every up and down is worth it. Make the jump.”

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Living

The Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture's Veteran’s Urban Farm Program.

IN THE BEGINNING In 2008, a concerned group of MU students took action to decrease the food waste from campus dining facilities. They formed a student organization, Sustain Mizzou, and initiated a composting program. Subsequently, they took the logical next step and used the compost to start a community garden.

As the organization, and the garden, continued to grow, so did support from the local community, including new partnerships with organizations such as Columbia Public Schools, the Columbia Housing Authority, and Columbia Parks and Recreation. Over the next eight years, the organization gained its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status and became the Colum-

GOURMET

BY AMANDA LONG PHOTOS BY KEITH BORGMEYER

bia Center for Urban Agriculture, using their produce to feed at-risk members of the community through programs such as Planting for the Pantry and PLANTS. In early 2020, CCUA moved to a new, bigger facility at Columbia’s Agriculture Park, also home to the Columbia Farmers Market. The original garden site, on Smith Street, has

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Living

GOURMET

continued to serve the community through a recently developed partnership with the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital. The Smith Street site became the Veterans Urban Farm.

“There is a need to reach those that are struggling with food insecurity because they may not be willing or able to utilize the food pantry,” says Dustin Cook, manager of the Veterans Urban Farm program. An army veteran himself, Dustin understands all too well the struggles that can accompany transitioning back to civilian life. “One thing I’ve always wanted to do is to help other veterans who have had the same struggles as I’ve had. It is difficult on the best day to make that transition.”

Dustin grew up in the Ozarks, in an area almost entirely affected by rural poverty. He says that gardening was more of a necessity than a leisure activity. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college, where he took classes in environmental biology and studied the concept of sustainability.

Through independent reading on the subjects of gardening and farming, Dustin built his knowledge of the “old-school” agriculture

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Living

practices of the past. “These were things our grandparents were doing, but [the practices] were left by the wayside by industrial agriculture. I feel reconnected to past generations — I’m sure my great-grandfather used all of these practices with a horse and plow instead of big machines,” he says.

Dustin came to CCUA through the AmeriCorps program in 2019 to work in an outdoor classroom. It was around this time that CCUA was initiating the Veterans Urban Garden program, and Dustin was a prime candidate for the position of manager. “I said: ‘Yes! Absolutely!’ Getting to return to my roots and going back to growing food and providing food for members of the community is very deeply personal to me because that is my background,” shares Dustin.

GIVING BACK The Veterans Urban Farm is part of the VA’s transitional work program, which provides the opportunity for veterans to benefit from the therapeutic aspects of outdoor activity and gardening. During their time on the farm, veterans are trained and taught various horticulture-related skills and receive

GOURMET

help updating their resume and applying for jobs.

“We see an interesting mix of backgrounds, [ from] folks who grew up on farms to participants who have never even grown a houseplant,” Dustin says. “Many have said they plan to continue to garden.

But anyone can come and volunteer — you don’t have to be a veteran.”

Aside from the rotation of spring, summer, and fall crops — including root vegetables, tomatoes, berries, potatoes, and greens — the farm also has beehives and chickens. The outdoor classroom and compost site can be utilized by anyone in the community. There are no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or artificial fertilizer used.

Instead, the program uses compost for fertilizer, and insect netting, BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), or neem oil are used for insect repellent.

Since March 2020, the Veterans Urban Farm has donated more than 20,000 pounds of produce, most of which go directly to veterans via a free produce stand at the VA from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Thursday.

Dustin says they also partner with Welcome

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GOURMET

"We hope to be a model for how urban spaces can be used to not only produce food sustainably, but to go above and beyond to do so regeneratively, restoring native habitat or rebuilding urban soil as an ecosystem."

— Dustin Cook

Home Veterans, Phoenix Programs, and the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri’s Central Pantry. “Everything goes somewhere to someone who needs it,” he says.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Dustin also has plans for an unused former classroom garden to be transformed into a 3,000-square-foot, ADA-accessible garden and multi-purpose activity space, which they are actively fundraising for. “This addition will help make this site inclusive for veterans with limited mobility, featuring wide rows and raised beds,” he says.

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OCTOBER 2021

The Veterans Urban Farm is funded through grants and private donations and includes three full-time staffers: There’s Dustin; assistant manager Dixie Litchard, also a veteran and currently serving reservist; and a revolving AmeriCorps assistant.

“We depend on support from community in terms of donations and volunteers,” Dustin says. “Without them, it would be a really big challenge to accomplish what we do.” New volunteers can visit the volunteer page on the CCUA’s website to sign up and find general information.

Periodically throughout the year ( following the guidelines for COVID-19 health and safety), CCUA holds public events on the farm. For Veteran’s Day 2020, there was a drive-up meal giveaway catered by Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co., and on Friday, October 8, 2021, there will be an open house event. “We want people to see what we are doing, how we are serving veterans, and what other organizations are out

there so we can educate the community on the programs that are available,” says Dustin.

The CCUA’s overarching mission to combat food insecurity in the community at large is certainly being achieved through The Veterans Urban Farm program. “It serves as an example of what can be done when communities take an active role in supporting a grassroots organization such as this one, and through powerful collaborations with like-minded organizations, such as the VA.” Dustin says that he finds being able to have a positive impact on the lives of other veterans in Mid-Missouri personally rewarding, and he’s grateful for the opportunity provided by CCUA. “We hope to be a model for how urban spaces can be used to not only produce food sustainably, but to go above and beyond to do so regeneratively, restoring native habitat or rebuilding urban soil as an ecosystem," he says.

"This can be done. We did it here, and it can be done everywhere. Local food is the future.”

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WHAT THE

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KELLY WILSDORF

ROST LANDSCAPING

ANNE TUCKLEY

ANNE TUCKLEY HOME

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WHAT THE

SPRING FLOWERING BULBS

KELLY WILSDORF

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ROST LANDSCAPING Kelly Wilsdorf grew up in Columbia just down the road from Rost Inc., and she's happy to still call Columbia home.

She has a degree in plant science and landscape design from MU and was hired as Rost’s landscape maintenance manager after graduation. Her love for plants makes this job very enjoyable when assisting clients with their outdoor tasks. Outside of work, you can find her cooking, gardening, sewing, or doing other outdoor activities.

(573) 445-4465 ROSTLANDSCAPING.COM

By Kelly Wilsdorf Find more at rostlandscaping.com

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f your home could use a burst of color in early spring, consider spring blooming bulbs. It’s a huge opportunity for color that is easily missed because they need to be planted in fall. Bulbs need a good cold spell after planting to let them know when spring is here and it’s time to bloom!

There are a wide variety of bulbs to choose from: • • • •

Daffodils Tulips Allium Crocus

• Hyacinth • Specialty Bulbs • Garlic

Garden centers have tons of options to choose from, so here are a few considerations to help you figure out what you need: Do you have deer? If so, you should stay away from tulips, but there are still plenty of options for you to choose from. Many of the bulb boxes will indicate if they are deer resistant.

Before heading to the store, be sure to measure your area. Most bulbs need to be spaced about 4 inches apart, so use this to determine how many you’ll need to buy.

Think about your area and whether you need different heights to achieve layering.

Many blooms come in a single or a double bloom. This is mainly personal preference. Also, pay attention to the bloom times. Do you want everything to bloom at once? Or stagger the bloom times for continual color? Generally, bulbs are labeled as early, middle, or late bloomers.

Lastly, consider color. While picking a color is personal preference, think about whether you want to utilize just one for a mass of color or if you want to mix and match for more interest.

Now that you have your bulbs picked out, you’ll need to know how to plant them. You can always dig the holes by hand, but a bulb auger drill attachment makes it much faster and easier.

Dig a hole about 4 to 6 inches deep. A good rule of thumb is to plant the bulb two to three times as deep as the bulb is tall.

Put the bulb into the hole with the pointed end up. This will insure that the roots are on the bottom side and the plant will find its way to the surface.

Fill the hole with soil and top dress with a little mulch.

Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying spring color just as you’ve had enough of winter.

After the bulbs are done blooming, cut back the flower stock, but leave the leaves until they

wilt to the ground. This is how they gather and store their energy for the next year. If you plan on redoing the design each year, then feel free to dig them up once they’re done blooming. Most bulbs will come back each year, except for tulips. You might get a couple years out of tulips, but you will need to replant or fill in occasionally.

The weather is cooling down quickly, so come out to Superior Garden Center to see what bulbs you can choose from for easy and impactful spring color in your landscape.

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By Anne Tuckley Find more at AnneTuckleyhome.com

F

or many, professional interior decorating and design services are seen as a luxury. I am going to let you in on a little secret. In many cases, professional design services can save you money over the DIY approach. No matter what it is, we’ve all sought to save money by doing something ourselves and ultimately end up investing significantly more money than it would have cost to hire a professional.

Design is no different.

Frequently in design, options exist for beautiful transformations simply by utilizing what you have in a different way. Designers frequently discourage clients from investing in new pieces. Other times, they are able to direct folks to much more affordable options because this is what they do every day.

When someone is out shopping, researching, and creating daily, their knowledge is more extensive and they know where corners can be cut and where they cannot.

Designers can also add value to your home with minimal investment. If you are looking to sell your home, an investment of a few hundred dollars to stage the property can easily result in thousands of dollars in profit and a quicker sale. It’s such a simple way to boost value, yet many people are deterred because of the upfront cost. It is about as quick of a return on investment as you can get! Even something as simple as painting your front door a different color can add hundreds to thousands in value.

So whether you are looking for a refresh or looking to move out, hiring a professional designer can make a positive impact on your bank account.

ANNE TUCKLEY

HOME

PROS KNOW

ANNE TUCKLEY HOME Anne has been in the interior design industry for more than 20 years and has resided in metropolitan cities ranging from NYC to Houston while honing her skills. Her specialties are interior design and home staging with a focus on unique perception. Anne graduated with a BFA in fine art with a concentration in design and illustration. She has extensive experience in designing new construction as well as remodeling and conceptualizing out-of-the-box ideas. She ensures cutting-edge design and superb customer service.

108 CORPORATE LAKE PL. COLUMBIA, MO, 65203 (573) 639-1989 ANNETUCKLEYHOME.COM

SPONSORED CONTENT

WHAT THE

HOME

CLUTTER CONTROL

AMBER WOOTEN

PROS KNOW

TIGER HOME TEAM

Amber joined Tiger Home Team in 2020 with 10 years of experience helping Columbia area buyers and sellers with their real estate needs. Amber and her husband, Will, moved to Columbia in 2004 with their two sons, Whitten and Jett. Their family was completed with the addition of their daughter, Ovella, in 2011.

She always strives to make your priorities her own because when you’re buying or selling your home, the experience matters.

By Amber Wooten Find more at tigerhometeam.com

573-289-4440 TIGERHOMETEAM.COM

H

as summer clutter taken control of your home? The arrival of fall provides the perfect reason to declutter from summer and prep for the rest of the year!

If you find yourself feeling the summer squeeze, start with these tips to help begin your fall “pitch and purge.” Keep in mind that we have some terrific local agencies that would love to accept your gently used household goods, clothing, toys, and even small appliances, tools, and building supplies. A freshly organized home

and helping our community by donating things you no longer need — that’s a win-win!

START WITH THE CLOSETS Closets are the easiest place to begin. You and your kids should try on every piece of clothing. Get rid of anything too small or out of style.

Next, move the summer clothes to the back and your fall and winter clothes to the front. Make sure those clothes still fit; if not, they must go.

LOSE THE SUMMER GARAGE CHAOS Do you have bikes, gardening supplies, and summer sports equipment taking over your garage? Take a weekend and give your garage a fall makeover.

Donate or sell old toys, bikes, and tools. Map out a storage plan to fit your summer stuff and make your winter tools accessible.

FRESHEN UP THE KITCHEN Whether it’s for the big game or

the upcoming holiday season, fall is the start of hosting season.

Take time to declutter, organize, and scrub your kitchen. Get rid of the things you don’t use.

Trash, donate, or sell the items to make a little extra cash.

GET RID OF OLD TOYS If you have kids, you most likely have old toys shoved into a closet, drawer, or corner. If they haven’t seen the light of day in a while, it’s time to pass them on.

Places to Donate | Pro-tip: contact the business before your trip to make sure they are currently accepting items you plan to bring.

CITY OF REFUGE

UPSCALE RESALE

THE WARDROBE

THE LOVE SEAT

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

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573-445-4803 assistanceleague.org/ mid-missouri

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Adult clothing, accessories, housewares, collectibles, furniture

Children’s and adult clothing, shoes, accessories, small household items

Furniture, cookware, decor, children’s books, toys

Furniture, beds, small appliances, washers/dryers, in-season clothing

Household items, furniture, tools, building materials and supplies

SPONSORED CONTENT

WHAT THE

FIT FOR THE FAMILY

By Jake Baumgartner

JAKE BAUMGARTNER

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BAUMGARTNER’S FURNITURE Jake essentially grew up in the furniture industry, as he is the fourth generation involved in Baumgartner’s Furniture. Working very closely with his father, Alan, Jake has been devoted to the stores full-time since 2004. His greatest enjoyment, however, still comes from working closely with the customers. He is married to Sarah, and they have two active boys, Noah and Laine. Jake received his degree in finance from Saint Louis University.

Find more at baumgartners.com

W

ill you have a full house for the holidays?

Guest bedrooms are great, but sometimes you need a flexible way to maximize your space when the whole family comes to town.

Keeping everyone comfortable under one roof can be tricky.

Fortunately, there are a lot of options that can provide extra sleeping space for guests. These beds won’t break the bank and won’t take up too much of your space.

SLEEPER SOFA A sleeper sofa is a smart and practical investment because it serves multiple purposes. You will maximize your budget with this purchase because you get two pieces of furniture in one. They are available in multiple styles and fabrics to match your decor.

BUNK BED Bunk beds are the perfect option for children. Not only are they space savers, but they’re fun, too! These beds are available in all sizes, anywhere from twin to California king. This is a great

(573) 256-6288 BAUMGARTNERS.COM

choice for fitting in all of the little ones during the holidays.

TRUNDLE BED A trundle bed is stored under a main bed when not in use. You’ll get

two beds for the space of one. Pull it out when you need it and push it in when you don’t. It’s another great option for a child’s room. They can also be placed underneath bunk beds to really maximize your space.

DAY BED Another versatile option is a daybed. This two-in-one piece of furniture can be used as a sofa, but it can also be quickly transformed into a sleeping place for guests. Day beds are customizable; the linens and accent pillows can be swapped out for a new style easily.

FUTON BED Much like a sleeper sofa, the futon transforms from a couch to a bed in seconds. The frame folds down for sleeping and up for sitting. It is an affordable option that is a popular pick for teenagers and young adults.

At Baumgartner’s Furniture, we have a variety of options for your guests. Swing by our showrooms in Auxvasse or Columbia and let our experienced staff help you find the right sleeping solution for you.

SPONSORED CONTENT

WHAT THE

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

SHAUN HENRY

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ATKINS

By Shaun Henry Find more at AtkinsInc.com

I

s your lawn and landscape the envy of all the neighborhood? Or maybe your thumb is just a bit greener than some of the neighbors. Not all of your neighbor’s may be as receptive to your help, but just in case, here are some things you might do to help:

A Columbia native, Shaun Henry found a home at Atkins in 2000 when he started his career as a turf technician.

Shaun holds a commercial applicator’s license through the Missouri Department of Agriculture and is a member of the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the Mid-America Green Industry Council, and the Missouri Green Industry Alliance. Shaun strongly believes in the importance of a great customer experience, where the Atkins staff knows the clients and anticipates their needs accordingly.

Shaun is an MU alumnus and has a degree in plant science.

573-874-5100 ATKINSINC.COM

SHARE YOUR TOYS — I MEAN TOOLS. Some lawn and garden tools are expensive or even hard to come by. If you see your neighbor out in the lawn trying to cut a low hanging tree limb off with a steak knife, maybe offering your pruning saw would be a good idea. Might hold back on handing over your new chainsaw though. Not everyone knows how to safely operate one of those. Hopefully you do and you can help with the next neighborhood storm clean up too.

And if you are the borrower of tools, be sure to return it as soon as you’re done with it!

RESPECT PROPERTY LINES. Don’t mow into the neighbor’s lawn unless they give the ok, go ahead. Not everyone mows at the proper height for the time of year it is. Mow yours correctly and hopefully the neighbors will follow suit. You might even prune your trees, shrubs and vines to help keep them from crowding into the neighbor’s space. If there’s a problem at the border, talk about it before doing anything. Maybe you will wind up sharing the work or the cost to fix it.

PLANTING SOME FLOWERS as a splash of color can go a long way. You might just grab a couple of extra mums this fall and offer them to the neighbor to brighten up their autumn.

It’s a wonderful gesture and the extra color in the landscape can really go a long way.

CLEAN UP THOSE LEAVES. Often times our lawns fill up with leaves from our neighbors’ trees and their lawn fills up with ours. If you’re clearing the leaves from your landscape beds and lawn and have a little extra time, maybe offer to help get the neighbor’s leaves up as well. Get the whole family out there for this one, if you can. More help = more fun!

DO YOU HAVE A LEAF BLOWER? When you’re done mowing and go to clean up the debris from the street, curbs, walks and drives, another quick neighborly thing to do would be to blow the debris off the neighbor’s sidewalk, front porch and driveway while you’re at it. Be gentle. Those leaf blowers can make a mess of things as well.

SEED MUCH? As you know, a dense stand of grass is your best defense against unwanted weeds. If you’re seeding your lawn and your neighbor’s needs it too, offer to help. You don’t have to buy their seed necessarily, but

if you’ve got the tools and know-how, maybe you can show them how to seed properly too. Their lawn will be all the better for it.

Although I am not mentally ready for it, the snow will fall soon so I should also suggest clearing the neighbor’s walks while doing yours.

I hear about this one all the time. The one neighbor with a snow blower is the hero of the day especially after a 10” mid-MO snow! What a great way to help out around the neighborhood.

No matter how you give, helping out your neighbors with their lawn and landscape can be quite rewarding. Plus, you may develop lifetime friendships, expand your social circle and improve upon your community. We hope that you enjoy the fall season as much as we do and remember, we’re here to answer questions you might have about your property.

That’s what friends and neighbors do!

Looks fun outside, holds fun inside.

T h e al l-new Vo lkswa ge n Ta os joemachensvw.net | 1200 Vandiver Dr, Columbia, MO 65202 COMOMAG.COM

55

I can do

THAT!?

DO YOU KNOW

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A 529?

• Private School Tuition Save $600 per year on average just by passing it through a 529.

• Trade School • Separate But Together Move tuition money between children as needed.

• Pass it On If you or your children don’t use it you can pass it on to your nieces, nephews, or grandchildren.

Call LaBrunerie Financial and let us help you make the most of your 529.

5 7 3 - 4 4 9 - 5 3 1 3 | L E A N N @ L A B R U N E R I E .C O M 56

OCTOBER 2021

Fresh

Living

FAVORITE FINDS

FINDS

Equipped with a handful of market tokens and our favorite reusable totes, COMO Magazine staffers enjoyed a morning of bounty and fresh finds at the Columbia Farmers Market.

PHOTOS BY CHARLES BRUCE III

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Goatsbeard Farm 11351 Callahan Creek Rd. Goatsbeardfarm.com

C�����i� s��rd�u�� Uprise Bakery 10 Hitt St. Uprisebakery.com

J�l���ñ� ��e��e� h���� Honeysuckle Acres Honeysuckleacres.net

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COMOMAG.COM

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Living

ST YLE FAVORITE FINDS

Grocery List Soften lavender soap

The Lookout Farm 13601 W. Highway BB, Rochepo rt, MO, 65279 lavender lookout.c om

Tomato

Manitou Farm Jamestow n, MO

English cucumber

Cramer Farm Boone County, MO

Panzerotti spinach and mozzarella

Pasta La Fata pastalafa ta.net

Apple cider vinegar

Hickory Ridge Orchard 24688 Audrain Rd. 820, Mexico, MO Hickoryri dgeorcha rds.com

Baguette

Uprise Bakery 10 Hitt St. upriseba kery.com

58

OCTOBER 2021

Living

ST YLE

Onion cheese roll Up ris e Ba ke ry 10 Hi tt St. up ris eb akery.co m

Two Panzerotti

Butcher • 1x Barred Owl eet Italian sausage, sw lone ovo pr d peppers, an mozzarella • 1x Spinach and

Pa sta La Fa ta pa sta laf ata .ne t

Malabar spinach Ke a Int ern ati on al Bo on e Co un ty, MO

Pumpkin

rm s W isd om Va lle y Fa MO ia, Ca lifo rn

Flower bouquet Se llm ey er Fa rm Fu lto n, MO

COMOMAG.COM

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Living

FRIENDS & FAMILY

A Homecoming TRYPS returns to the Columbia Mall after seven years at Stephens College.

BY K A I T LY N B A IL E Y

A

n immersive children’s theater company dedicated to teaching, reaching, and inspiring children through performing arts returned to a newly renovated space in the Columbia Mall after seven years at Stephens College.

TRYPS (Theater Reaching Young People & Schools) joined Stephens College Performing Arts in 2014. With close proximity to the college’s residential dorms and homes, Stephens students gained experience in children’s theater through coursework and participation in TRYPS’ campus and programs through the partnership. But executive artistic director and founder Jill Womack began to look for a new location last year, with the TRYPS’ lease ending at Stephens in June.

“When it became a possibility that our former space at the Columbia Mall might be available — and at the same time we were looking for a new location — we were amazed,” Jill recalls.

The space has been completely reconfigured. The new location boasts a 50-seat black box performance space, a tool room, a sewing studio, office space, restrooms, and five classrooms.

Jill says she is excited to resume in-person programming while creating new programs, such as Third Thursdays. “On the third Thursday of every month, we will invite artists to come into our classrooms and showcase for hour-long concerts,” she explains, “so that every month, we feature a different style of music and help our children learn all the various disciplines of performing arts.”

The theater company will be operating at a limited capacity and has created rules for students and employees for protection against COVID-19.

TRYPS’ ROOTS TRYPS started on paper. Jill designed the theater company for her thesis at the University of North Carolina — Greensboro. “My initial design followed a theater for young adults model, which is adults acting for children, as opposed to youth theater, which is children acting to children, peer to peer,” Jill says.

So, when Jill founded TRYPS in 2000, the company followed the TYA model, “hiring adult actors from New York and Los Angeles to perform for school audiences.” In its second year, Jill made the switch from the TYA model to the youth theater model.

Today, TRYPS offers classes, after-school programs, summer camps, and full productions for children and youth.

MAKING AN IMPACT TRYPS has a monumental impact on students. The organization inspires children to find their own creative voices, Jill says. “For children in our classrooms, they are developing reading and public speaking skills, practicing voice and articulations, and learning to follow directions,” she says. “Those that are in our plays learn leadership, teamwork, work ethic, creative problem-solving, and trust.”

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OCTOBER 2021

Living

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Even children in the audience learn life lessons through the characters on stage. “Dorothy learns not to take her family for granted [in “The Wizard of Oz”], and “Aladdin” teaches children to be themselves,” Jill says.

Part of their impact spans to the professional realm, too. A free program for students in eighth grade or above allows them to shadow-teach at TRYPS in the classroom, learning about classroom management, how to create lesson plans, and how to work with children.

And students can work alongside lighting and costume designers through TRYPS’ tech program.

TRYPS also strives to reach children who would not usually see live theatre by decreasing the barriers to accessing the performing arts. The company seeks to do this by offering a partial scholarship to any child who applies for financial assistance to take a class, appear in a play, or attend camps.

“When it became a possibility that our former space at the Columbia Mall might be available — and at the same time we were looking for a new location — we were amazed.” ­– Jill Womack

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SPONSOR LIST

PRESENTING:

Hawthorn Bank

GOLD: Brockmeier Financial Services, LLC Columbia College’s Fishman Center for Entrepreneurship Elevato Liberty Family Medicine EVENT PLANNING:

THANK YOU

to all of our sponsors of the Small Business Festival!

Andrea Lyn Events, LLC LIVESTREAM SPONSOR: JS Computek, LLC TELECAST: KOMU 8 & Mid-Missouri CW MEDIA SPONSORS: COMO Magazine Cumulus Media, Inc MAAD Creative, LLC Missouri Business Alert PRINTING SPONSOR: Columbia College LOCATION SPONSOR: Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture ENTERTAINMENT SPONSORS: DogMaster Distillery Legacy Life Services

300 S Providence Rd • PO Box 1016 Columbia, Mo 65205 573.874.1132 columbiamochamber.com

Liberty Insurance Solutions DECOR SPONSOR: Airmagination

Celebrating the people and places that faithfully serve our city.

BY B E T H B R A M ST E DT PHOTO S BY A NT HO NY J I NS O N

T

his past year continued to provide unexpected opportunities for innovation in the ways our local nonprofits cared for our community — and the volunteers, staff, executive directors, local businesses, and board members rose to the challenge.

From creating new programs to developing original fundraising events, 2021 continued to raise the bar on meeting the needs of our community. So, as you flip through the pages of our Impact COMO feature, raise your glass to the stories of those who worked tirelessly this past year to improve the quality of life for those they serve.

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Dr. Ellis Ingram CALEB – The Science Club

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OCTOBER 2021

MOST IMPACTFUL VOLUNTEER RECIPIENT

D

r. Ellis Ingram, a retired pathologist at MU Health Care affectionately known as “Poppi,” has been nurturing a passion for science in children for more than 30 years.

When his children were preteens, Ellis wanted to encourage and equip them and their friends to excel. That’s when CALEB — The Science Club was born.

Over the years, CALEB grew from a handful of kids to dozens of eager learners. After Granny’s House opened in 2001, Ellis moved CALEB under the banner of Granny’s House and collaborated with the MU School of Medicine and the Sinclair School of Nursing to ensure that CALEB participants had hands-on experiences as they learned world class, 21st century science lessons from physicians, nurses, award-winning researchers, and medical students each month.

Ellis is most proud of being able use the experiences that enabled him to graduate from the University of Michigan medical school and lead MU Health Care’s cytology department to mentor and encourage hundreds of children who’ve crossed the threshold at Granny’s House.

“I love using my education and training, along with my background, to unearth the unique brilliance of every single child we encounter,” Ellis says.

Ellis’ faith in Jesus Christ motivates him to serve and to consider the needs of others as more important than his own. “My joy comes from seeing others succeed,” he says. He credits his wife, Pamela Ingram, for the success of Granny’s House and is grateful for members of area churches, the volunteers at the School of Service Learning, and MU’s School of Medicine.

CALEB participants now meet every Wednesday afternoon at Granny’s House and on the first Saturday of the month at the MU School of Medicine or MU School of Nursing. CALEB is open to any student aged 10 or above.

Many of the students who have participated in CALEB are now pursuing medical careers.

HONORABLE MENTION

Amelia Cottle Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter

After losing her husband to early-onset Alzheimer’s, Amelia Cottle became an educator with the Greater Missouri Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Instead of stepping away from the world of Alzheimer’s after we lost Brian, she turned toward the fight and ran in headfirst,” says Amelia’s son, Chris Cottle.

Amelia currently leads four support groups for caregivers and travels throughout the state teaching classes and advocating for people living with or caring for those with the disease. “If I can make one caregiver’s journey a bit better, then I’m honoring my husband and the people who helped me on our dementia journey,” Amelia says.

HONORABLE MENTION

Mary Clark Love Columbia

Mary Clark is a longtime Columbia resident with a large and diverse social network, as well as a registered nurse and a senior grant writer for the MU School of Health Professions. She also uses all these gifts and talents to further the mission of Love Columbia, where she has actively volunteered for 10 years.

“Mary is very moved by the plight of disadvantaged people and lives with an urgency to help both on an individual and systemic level,” says Love Columbia’s Jane Williams. “She loves to dream with me about new, more expansive programs, but stays close to the people in need with committed mentoring and support.”

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Kerrie Bloss Boys & Girls Club of Columbia

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OCTOBER 2021

MOS T IMPAC TFUL S TAFF MEMBER RECIPIENT

K

errie Bloss has been serving our community in the social service industry since 1997. She joined the Boys & Girls team in 2014 and currently serves as the Community Development Director. She is known to wear many hats around the organization, but her primary role involves securing resources that allow the club to build capacity and serve more kids in their after-school and summer programs.

According to Valorie Livingston, Kerrie was instrumental during the pandemic to set up and manage a curbside meal pickup program for Columbia kids ages 5 to 18. From March to August, the program served more than 67,000 meals.

Kerrie is most proud of the growth the club has experienced in the number of kids served as well as the increase in revenue and fundraising events each year.

“In the last seven years, Kerrie has increased our Rootin’ Tootin’ Chili Cookoff revenue by 56%, raising a total of $789,907.69 since 2014,” says Valorie Livingston. “She also increased our Hoops for a Cause revenue by 79%, raising a total of $1,048,935.90 since 2014.”

Valorie Livingston adds that in 2014 the Boys & Girls Club was serving 150 kids and they are now serving more than 1,000 kids each year.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t first give credit to the late Hank Waters for having the vision to bring a Boys & Girls Club to Columbia in 1997,” Kerrie says.

“He saw the need for kids to have a safe and supportive place to go after school and during the summer.”

Kerrie is also grateful for the Club’s former executive director, Valorie Livingston, who continued Hank’s vision and grew the number of kids served to over 1,300 each year and increased the budget to more than $2 million.

“Everything we do is focused on academic success, good character, leadership, and healthy lifestyles,” Kerrie says.

HONORABLE MENTION

Jessie Yankee Missouri Women’s Business Center

In the three-plus years that Jessie Yankee has led the Missouri Women’s Business Center, she has had a dramatic impact on the business community and the community at large. “In our first full year of service [2017], we served 76 clients annually in 260 sessions,” says Darin Preis. “This year, we are on the path to serve over 400 clients in more than 1,500 sessions.”

Jessie’s job is to create and cultivate opportunities for women in entrepreneurship. “Each day, I have the privilege of working with amazing, smart, driven, and talented women, both as clients and my staff,” says Jessie. “I have never had a more rewarding position!”

HONORABLE MENTION

Kelli Van Doren Love Columbia

Kelli Van Doren’s laugh, love, and energy provide high-octane fuel for Love Columbia. “Kelli can get more done than anyone we know,” says Jane Williams. “She is a high-level multi-tasker who can take a client’s call for help, untangle a financial dilemma, and send a volunteer out on a mission as she is walking to her car to visit a newly homeless family.”

Kelli began volunteering in March of 2015, and 18 months later she became the Extra Mile Program coordinator. “At any one time, there are 30 pairs of financial coaches and participants in the program,” Kelli says. “Each coach jumps into their participant’s situation and helps them make progress.”

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Eric Morrison Job Point

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OCTOBER 2021

MOST IMPACTFUL BOARD MEMBER RECIPIENT

E

ric Morrison joined Job Point’s board in 2015 and got to work launching their first live auction at the 2017 awards banquet. He’s continued every year since, raising funds this year for Job Point’s affordable housing initiatives.

Even without a co-host, he broke the organizational record by raising more than $16,000 in his fifth paddle auction.

Eric became chair of the board in 2018, and he relies on key partnerships with the City of Columbia, Boone County, the local judicial system, MoDOT, and YouthBuild to accomplish the organization’s goals. He credits the success of Job Point to the leadership provided by the senior leadership team and the execution of the mission carried out by the entire staff.

“The outcomes of Job Point for the clients we serve are outstanding,” says Eric. “And the combined annual salaries in one year of Job Point graduates is greater than the operating budget of the entity. In other words, Job Point returns more than $1 to the community for every $1 it spends.”

“Every year that Eric has served on our board, he has brought confidence, creativity, and a passion for getting other people involved in our work,” says Liz Sensintaffar. “He is first to volunteer when it comes to seeking out new and greater resources and is always ready to offer his advice and encouragement. He truly believes that all people deserve to have the opportunity to pursue educational and employment opportunities.”

Eric strives to treat others how he wants to be treated, and he is excited about paying off Job Point’s building this year and completing their capital campaign.

“Eric is truly all in when it comes to his service to this community,” Liz Sensintaffar continues. “He has changed the lives of the individuals we support, which has the potential of changing their trajectory for generations to come.”

HONORABLE MENTION

Dr. Christelle Ilboudo American Academy of Pediatrics Missouri Chapter

As the pandemic transformed our lives, Dr. Christelle Ilboudo stepped up to be a voice for children. In addition to her job at MU Health Care, Christelle uses her medical expertise in pediatric infectious diseases to appear on local news stations, breaking down the latest medical recommendations into tangible, usable information. She also shares her knowledge with local and statewide school officials, school nurses, and public health officials as they balance safety decisions.

“My personal goal for our organization is to increase our brand visibility,” says Christelle. “I want MOAAP to be the go-to place for any health care provider in Missouri who serves children.”

HONORABLE MENTION

Brenda Potterfield Great Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America

For 22 years, Brenda Potterfield has supported the largest fundraising event for the Boy Scouts Great Rivers Council, a sporting clays tournament.

Brenda has leveraged her connections in the outdoor industry to bring in hundreds of auction donations and shooting teams. Specifically, the 2000 tournament had 50 shooters and raised $4,830. In 2020, the fundraiser grossed $86,431 and Brenda personally welcomed 278 shooters to Midway Farms.

Brenda is motivated to serve because she believes scouting develops leaders. “Our son is an Eagle Scout from Troop 4,” says Brenda. “Larry and I can see how it helped mold him into the person he is today.”

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Elizabeth Herrera Eichenberger True North of Columbia

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OCTOBER 2021

MOST IMPACTFUL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECIPIENT

E

lizabeth Herrera Eichenberger grew up in Puerto Rico, received a master’s degree in nonprofit management, and opened a PACE Center for Girls Inc. in Miami before falling in love and moving to Columbia.

That was five years ago, and July marked the anniversary of both her move and her decision to accept the role of executive director for True North of Columbia.

Elizabeth has always been determined to invest vocationally where she could help women find their value and reach their full potential. “I believe a community can be transformed when we invest in women,” she says. True North has provided a place for her to pursue that passion.

True North was started in the 1970s as a shelter for rape victims, and it exists today to provide a safe environment by educating, empowering, and advocating for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

In addition to successfully managing the day-to-day operations of the organization, Elizabeth hopes to provide steadfast and continued service to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and to ensure they are improving their organizational practices so that the staff feels balanced and valued for their incredible work.

Specifically, Elizabeth’s goal this year is to have a fully functioning victim advocacy center that will focus on addressing the current needs of survivors while providing prevention and intervention strategies to help them navigate life without their abusers. This goal includes healthy relationship education for both adults and children.

“Elizabeth’s drive is like nothing I have seen before. She is fierce, determined, empowered, and a fighter for all women that have been a victim of domestic violence and assault,” says Ashley Emel.

This drive also helped Elizabeth earn her SHRM Certified Senior Professional Certification this year. “This is a big accomplishment for me and something I am very proud of,” she says.

HONORABLE MENTION

Kelsey Hammond Columbia Art League

As the executive director, Kelsey Hammond keeps a lot of plates spinning at the Columbia Art League. “I think of the job of an ED as part octopus, part magician, part contortionist, and part cheerleader,” Kelsey says. “You’ve got your hand in everything. You’re trying to make funding appear out of nowhere, you’ve got to remain incredibly flexible, and you happily share your enthusiasm for your mission and what your organization does.”

Kelsey is excited to have partnered with Jabberwocky Studios this past year to launch a pilot program called The Art Bus, which brings a myriad of art activities to low-income neighborhoods in Columbia.

HONORABLE MENTION

Lindsay Young Lopez The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri

Lindsay Young Lopez knows firsthand that life is short and that tragedy can strike at any time.

From her own experience of personal loss, she has committed herself to new priorities, the importance of family, giving back to her community, and the fierce need to surround herself with joy.

These values guide her work every day as the president of The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri.

“I have always felt it was an honor to serve in this role,” Lindsay shares, “but I have felt that more profoundly in the last five years. This job helped save me at the darkest point in my life, and I will forever be grateful for that.”

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UScellular Mike Burwell, Director of Retail Sales and Operations

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OCTOBER 2021

M O S T IMPAC T FUL PHIL A N T HR O PI C CO MPA N Y RECIPIENT

S

ince 2015, UScellular has been an integral part of the success of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbia, especially in the areas of academics and STEM. Financially, they have invested more than $165,000 during that time and donated 80 hotspots for kids without internet access at home, as well as 25 tablets, hygiene kits, and additional Wi-Fi access points this year.

“Their continued support of STEM learning and experiences is designed to prepare the Club kids of today for careers of tomorrow, inspiring kids to explore STEM careers and opportunities for their future,” says Kerrie Bloss of Boys & Girls Club of Columbia.

Their support, however, goes well beyond a financial contribution. Each February, UScellular holds a “Black History Month Art Contest” for Club kids. Kids create artwork in recognition of influential Black people from around the globe.

Finalists are then advanced to a public vote at a local UScellular location.

The organization also provides a photo booth at the Club’s holiday party, sends volunteers for their end of summer celebration, participates on their chili cookoff committee, and volunteers their time to read monthly to one of their school sites.

Mike Burwell, director of retail sales and operations, enjoys being a champion for the Club. His role is to support any local efforts that are needed, including Club projects and fundraisers. His mantra is to make a difference in his own life by helping others. “I am not shy to ask for physical, financial, or other help. When you believe in something, it’s easy,” he says. “What they do matters!”

And the support UScellular provides the Club does not go unnoticed.

“The team at UScellular is truly [full of] unsung heroes,” Kerrie Bloss says. “It is our honor to have them in our corner, as they truly believe in the great futures of kids in Columbia!”

HONORABLE MENTION

Monarch Title Company Chuck and Pam Bowman, owners of Monarch Title, love to give back to those who need it most. They serve on boards, raise funds, and give personally and corporately to help kids and families that struggle with everyday needs.

So far in 2021, Monarch Title has served as the title sponsor for First Chance for Children’s golf fundraiser and their Bingo for Babies fundraiser. They are also supporting GPMade Foundation by donating five dollars for every closing completed in 2021. In the first two quarters, the program has yielded more than $6,000 for the organization. Monarch also matches any money donated by the staff to numerous nonprofits.

HONORABLE MENTION

Veterans United Home Loans For almost a decade, Job Point has been impacted by the generosity of Veterans United Home Loans and the Veterans United Foundation. Earlier this year, VU surprised Job Point with a check for $500,000 to pay off the mortgage on their building. Their donation came after the foundation gave $100,000 toward the goal in 2018.

“We have the privilege of working with a lot of amazing businesses who are doing so much to help this community,” says Liz Sensintaffar from Job Point. “But what sets Veterans United apart is the way they give and give and give as a community of people and then say, ‘That was great, but what else can we do?’”

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CoMo Chopped Heart of Missouri United Way

La Toya Stevens (marketing and communications director), Andrew Grabau (executive director), and Adonica Coleman (host and 2022 United Way community campaign co-chair)

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MOST IMPACTFUL FUNDR AISING EVENT RECIPIENT

W

hen the pandemic hit in 2020, it created new opportunities for nonprofits to be nimble with their fundraising efforts. That was the case for the Heart of Missouri United Way. “We had to rethink everything,” says Marketing and Communications Director La Toya Stevens.

The United Way needed to connect with the community, their donors, and potential new supporters. Board member Mary Ropp had the idea for CoMo Chopped. Through the 10-day competition, the organization raised funds, increased awareness, and facilitated support to local businesses.

Taking the lead from the popular television show “Chopped,” the inaugural event paired six chefs from local restaurants with six local celebrity chefs representing their businesses. Each restaurant prepared a dish especially for this event and presented it to a panel of judges. They also sold the dish in their restaurant and created a fundraiser for the United Way’s 2020 annual campaign. This gave the teams three ways to win: judges’ choice, community vote (based on most dishes sold), and most dollars raised for United Way. The winners were announced in a live broadcast. “The look and feel of the event were something totally different for COMO, with its state-of-the-art production as well as the way in which it was delivered to the audience,” says Adonica Coleman “The pilot event raised over $40k, which was amazing.”

Since the environment in 2020 necessitated that every fundraiser take place online, The United Way was especially proud of the reach of CoMo Chopped. La Toya shares that, according to Facebook analytics, in less than 30 days, their 17 CoMo Chopped related posts reached more than 41,000 people organically.

“We raised more than $25,000 through Facebook fundraisers, including support from 68 new individual donors,” she says.

The event was so successful that the United Way decided to keep it around for 2021.

HONORABLE MENTION

Voices of Columbia Heart of Missouri CASA

Heart of Missouri CASA launched their annual Voices of Columbia fundraiser in 2019. This event provides a way for local artists to share their talents while raising awareness for youth in the foster care system and the life changing work done by CASA’s volunteers.

The challenges of 2020 paused the event but created the energy and motivation for the 2021 fundraiser to be even stronger. “We sold out the event and raised over $52,000,” says marketing manager Angela Carson. “That exceeded our goal by $15,000. It was such a great night raising awareness and funds to help the most vulnerable children in our community.”

HONORABLE MENTION

True North Star True North of Columbia

In pivoting from their annual gala, Little Black Dress, True North of Columbia was forced to get creative in their fundraising approach this year. “A singing competition was a big risk to take,” says Executive Director Elizabeth Herrera Eichenberger. “Nevertheless, we took a chance that ended up raising over $50,000.”

The True North Star fundraiser launched as a hybrid event with virtual viewing and limited-seating options at The Blue Note. Contestants applied in advance and shared their recorded vocal talent on social media, securing donations for votes. The top five fundraiser vocalists went on to perform live on May 22.

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info@safeandsober.org

Living

COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW

Mike & Rockie Alden From the highest ranks of college sports to their community nonprof it work, the Aldens have always worked well together.

WHAT KEEPS YOU BUSY DURING THE WEEK?

Mike: Community events, doing consulting work in higher education and athletics through our company MRJ Advisors LLC, and working on our farm property in Williamsburg, Missouri.

Rockie: Walking group, Zumba, hikes, volunteering, working on the United Way campaign, hanging out and working on our property in Williamsburg, reading, and traveling.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ART/CULTURE ACTIVITY IN COLUMBIA?

M: That’s a tough one. True/False and the Ragtag Film Society are incredible jewels for Columbia and Boone County. Then there’s Art in the Park, First Fridays, Columbia Farmers Market, and much more, but we don’t have enough room to mention them all!

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO WORK TOGETHER?

R: Good! We’ve worked together on a lot of community and volunteer efforts, and after 30 years we’ve worked out most of the kinks. We have similar styles that mesh well together, but we also have different gifts and skill sets so we can divide and conquer.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

M: I’m not sure it’s unique, but after 29 years of marriage and 31 years together, we have a tendency to finish each other’s sentences.

R: We’ve grown stronger through adversity.

Different challenges have been hard to get through, my health and his career stresses in particular, but we always try to learn and grow and adapt.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?

M: We like to travel, exercise, and spend time at our farm.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE

You should also strive for flexibility and looking at things through your partner’s lens.

WHAT IS THE BEST QUALITY OF YOUR PARTNER?

R: Again, hard to pick one: committed, dependable, loyal, kind, smart, and hardworking.

M: Compassion, empathy, and a tremendous heart for service.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE

PROJECT TO WORK ON TOGETHER?

HOLD FOR THE TWO OF YOU?

R: Probably because we’re currently working on it, the United Way campaign was first on my mind. We’ve had a lot of time and learned so many amazing things about COMO! But I also really enjoyed partnering in Mike’s work in Vietnam and also in MU Athletics and our church barbecue.

M: Hopefully lots more time together to contribute to and learn from so many incredible people and organizations.

WHAT IS THE KEY TO A LASTING AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP?

M: Communication, good listening skills, patience, and finding those things you have in common that you’re both passionate about!

R: Patience. Everybody says it, but it’s true!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN COLUMBIA?

R: That’s a hard one because there are so many, but Murry’s, Teller’s, and Barred Owl are a few.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU BOTH TO COLUMBIA?

M: Tiger athletics and the opportunity to work at MU. We love Mizzou and Columbia!

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WHY KIA LOVES COMO The principles instilled in me from my early childhood

experiences as an Eagle Scout have laid the foundation of dedication and commitment which have translated

into the mission of how we at Kia of Columbia want to be known.

Our goal is to be involved beyond a check presentation.

We want to forge long term collaborative relationships with people and organizations in our amazing community. We want to be part of making a difference.

Kia of Columbia as a team is taking the time to be involved in the foundation of building a stronger community in which we can all thrive.

In our first year we have been busy! Tigers on The

Matt McMahon General Manager

Prowl, Great Circle, CASA, Alzheimer Awareness and COMO 200’s Bicentennial celebrations. We are excited to build on this in 2022. Our brand here at Kia of Columbia is more than retailing automotive vehicles - it is a platform for us to be strong community leaders with an

To connect or learn more about the automotive experience at Kia of Columbia start by scanning the QR code.

authentic love for COMO. Please take the time to visit our community page (Yes... scan the qr code, no strings attached.)

Follow along as we work on impacting our community and each out to us if you know of how we can help.

We’re always happy to connect.

- Matt McMahon #KiaLovesCoMo

Warranties include 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain and 5-year/60,000-mile basic.

All warranties and roadside assistance are limited. See retailer for warranty details.

710 Business Loop 70 W • Columbia, MO 65203

kiaofcolumbia.com

Joe Machens Dealerships are honored to give back to our community by investing in education.

Every month of the school year a Mid-Missouri high school senior is awarded a $2,500 scholarship.

High school seniors can apply at

MachensDrivesEducation.com Congrats to our recent scholarship recipients!

Terrell Williams Mexico High School Major: Engineering Technology

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OCTOBER 2021

Alexis Johnson

Harrisburg High School Major: Business

Brady Whelihan

Douglass High School College: Westminster

Beeler Lile

Hickman High School College: Washington State Major: Interior Design

Working

90 WHO RUNS THE BUSINESS WORLD? WOMEN, THAT’S WHO. The Missouri Women’s Business Center continues pushing forward.

114 THIS OR THAT Valorie Livingston answers the questions we’ve all been dying to know.

92 FINDING THE GOOD NOTES Jon W. Poses recalls the origins of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series in Columbia.

Time to Celebrate!

Columbia and Missouri Freemasonry are turning 200!

FREE EVENT

Get your tickets here!

JOIN US ON

October 22 at the Masonic Complex

6033 Masonic Drive, Ste A, Columbia, MO 65202

FOOD RIBBON CUTTING FAMILY GAMES MUSIC AND MORE

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What is REDI?

Regional Economic Development Inc. (REDI) is a nonprofit, public/private par tnership created to enhance the vitality of business and increase the number of quality, sustainable jobs in Columbia and Boone County.

Attract

Expand

Grow

New Businesses

Legacy Businesses

Entrepreneurship

For more information, visit our website or give us a call!

(573) 442-8303 • REDI@CoMo.gov • columbiaredi.com

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OCTOBER 2021

Working

CLOSER LOOK

OCTOBER 2021

for their handcrafted flavors like chocolate chip, red velvet, white chocolate raspberry, lemon, and confetti, all of which are topped with their signature cream cheese frosting. To make it more sweet, Kaya says Nothing Bundt Cakes offers a wide variety of decorated cakes for all kinds of occasions, as well as a variety of retail items. “It’s a one-stop shop of anything and everything you may need for a specific occasion,” she explains.

The bakery franchise was founded in 1997 and now has more than 300 locations in the United States and Canada.

2900 TRIMBLE ROAD, STE. 103 573-615-7500 WWW.NOTHINGBUNDTCAKES.COM

Goldie’s Bagels

Bud’s Classic BBQ

In the space on Ninth Street previously occupied by Ingredient True Eatery and Pickleman’s, Bud’s Classic BBQ is using “old school techniques but blending [barbecue] with new innovative flavors,” owner Jason Paetzold says.

For brunch, the restaurant is serving up items like a biscuit with crème brulee and pork belly and pancakes with craft old fashioned cocktail caramel sauce and pulled pork.

Bud’s Classic BBQ puts their own spin on barbecue classics like brisket, ribs, and sausage for lunch and dinner. They’re also combining Mexican cooking traditions with U.S.style barbecue for menu items like tacos.

In addition to their innovative menu, the restaurant’s atmosphere is part of the experience. “I bought a barn near Hannibal, Mis-

souri, and the tables, beams, and bar are all reclaimed,” Jason says.

304 S. NINTH ST. 573-554-5844 JASON@BUDSCLASSICBBQ.COM

Goldie’s Bagels, a pop-up shop that has been operating out of Pizza Tree, will move into the downtown location of the former Harold’s Doughnuts and Strollway Market on Ninth Street, according to an announcement from Goldie’s Bagels owner Amanda Rainey.

Some of the menu items for the pop-up shop include classics like the everything bagel, the plain bagel, the blueberry bagel, and the sesame bagel. As well as their best selling sandwich, The Yenta, which consists of cream cheese, lox, cucumbers, onion, capers, and dill.

The bagel shop is expected to open sometime this fall.

114 S. NINTH ST., STE. 102 GOLDIESBAGELS@GMAIL.COM

Nothing Bundt Cakes

WWW.ORDERGOLDIES.COM

In August, Columbia became home to the seventh Nothing Bundt Cakes bakery in Missouri.

The national franchise bakery specializes in bundt cakes, according to manager Kaya Webb.

Nothing Bundt Cakes offers five sizes, ranging from ‘bundtinis,’ which is the smallest bite-sized bundt cakes, to ‘tiered bundt cakes.’ You can also choose from ten flavors baked fresh daily. The bakery is most famous

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Photo by Sadie Thibodeaux

Briefly in the News

O CTOB E R 2021

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ED UCATION

Gift to M.U. College of Business Will Improve Access through Scholarships and Support A combined commitment of $5 million from Pinney Allen and family to the MU Trulaske College of Business will establish the Allen Access Program, which will provide scholarships and programs to support under-resourced and under-represented students in the business school. The gift is split between a $3 million gift from Pinney Allen and her husband, Charles Miller III, and a $2 million estate gift from Allen’s brother and M.U. alumnus W.D. Allen. He received both a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate from the Trulaske College of Business, where he remains as an adjunct professor and coordinator of the Allen Angel Capital Education Program.

Working EDU CAT IO N

EDU CATION

Columbia College and State Fair Community College Announce New Partnership

United Way Worldwide Funds Local Equity Fund

A new partnership between Columbia College and State Fair Community College offers a 15% discount at Columbia College to State Fair Community College employees, spouses, and dependents. State Fair Community College graduates will receive a 10% discount via Columbia College’s Associate Degree Transfer Grant.

“Columbia College has a great reputation as a leader in adult education across the country, and we look forward to working with them to provide opportunities for our students as they continue their education beyond the community college level.

State Fair Community College prides itself on producing high-quality graduates who do well at the university level in many areas.”

Heart of Missouri United Way received one of three $10,000 grant investments made by United Way Worldwide to advance equity in local communities. According to a press release, the local nonprofit will turn to recommendations from their BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) Equity Advisory Council on how to invest these funds. Heart of Missouri United Way announced the Equity Fund and Advisory Council in March. The Equity Fund, with the advice of the advisory council, will enable the co-creation of solutions that ensure everyone has the resources, supports, opportunities, and networks they need to thrive, the press release said.

CO MMUNITY

Girl Scouts Announces 28 New Badges Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland announced 28 new badges focused on entrepreneurship, math in nature, and digital leadership that encourage girls to navigate a changing world and build futures they want.

New badges will include “Math in Nature” for grades kindergarten through fifth, “Cookie Business” for grades kindergarten through

BRIEFLY

12th, and “Digital Leadership” for grades kindergarten through 12th. According to a press release, the badges address concerns for children handling the increasingly digital world, helping girls develop an entrepreneurial mindset toward technology, STEM skills while exploring nature, and confidence and safe online practices.

AWAR D S

Boone Hospital Center Recognized as Top MidMissouri Hospital for Sixth Year in a Row For the sixth year in a row, Boone Hospital was named the top-ranked hospital in MidMissouri by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital also ranked seventh in the state.

Boone Hospital Center was rated high performing in orthopedics and in nine procedures and conditions: heart failure, heart bypass surgery, heart attack, colon cancer surgery, kidney failure, stroke, knee replacement, hip replacement, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

For the 2021-22 ratings, U.S. News Best Hospitals ranked 15 adult specialties. Of the nearly 5,000 hospitals analyzed and 30,000 physicians surveyed, only 175 hospitals ranked in at least one of the specialties. The U.S. News Best Hospitals also recognized hospitals by state, metro, and regional areas for their work in 17 procedures and conditions.

— JAMES CUNNINGHAM, DEAN OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, STATE FAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE COMOMAG.COM

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OCTOBER 2021

DR. ADAM CLARKE

Dr. Adam Clarke has joined Dr. Tim McGarity and the team at Restoration Eye Care. Adam graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and biology from the University of Kentucky. He then received his MD from the University of Louisville. Adam has received extensive training in medical and surgical ophthalmology, including cataract surgery, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, and refractive surgeries such as Lasik and PRK.

M AT T B R I D G E S

Matt Bridges, of Klingner & Associates PC, has earned his professional engineer license from the Missouri Division of Professional Registration. Matt, who joined the fi rm’s Columbia branch in 2020, is a mechanical and electrical engineer with nine years of experience working directly with HVAC equipment and providing design for air handling units, energy recovery units, and dehumidification systems. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Evansville.

M I K E WAG N E R

First Midwest Bank announced that Mike Wagner has assumed the position of assistant vice president and mortgage loan originator in the Columbia market. Mike joins First Midwest Bank with 30 years

of experience in banking and the fi nancial industry, with extensive experience in lending management. Mike received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Columbia College and completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

BARBARA RAMSEY

The Masonic Home of Missouri celebrated the 20th anniversary of Barbara Ramsey, executive director. Barbara began working with the Masonic Home as the director of outreach services in July 2001, moving into the executive director role in 2013.

Throughout her tenure, she has moved the organization forward from one program to 10 distinct outreach programs.

As executive director, she took on responsibility of the Masonic Museum and, most recently, the Masonic Library.

of creating dining experiences and memories that will enhance the experience of Old Hawthorne and its members.

TRICIA KOEDEL

Day Dreams Foundation announced the promotion of Tricia Koedel to executive director. Tricia was hired in February 2020 to manage and grow the scholarship program, and in a short time, she transformed the organization’s operations and efficiency. In 2021, the foundation has already awarded more scholarships for extracurricular activities to children than in any other calendar year. Previously, Tricia worked for more than 16 years at Ventegra in roles overseeing human resources, business operations, and strategic projects for the pharmacy benefits administrator. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego.

CLARKE

BRIDGES

WAG N E R

RAMSEY

ANTHONY SCHMIDT

The Club at Old Hawthorne welcomed new executive chef Anthony Schmidt. Anthony started his career with some of Chicago’s best restaurants and chefs. Upon settling in Columbia, Anthony was hired as the executive chef for MU's athletic department with Levy Restaurants. He was also previously an executive chef at The Country Club of Missouri. He looks forward to sharing his passion with the members of the Old Hawthorne community and is guided by his personal mission statement

VO LU N TA RY ACTION CENTER

Voluntary Action Center welcomed four new board members to their board of directors: Kelly Gilbert, Simmons Bank; Ezra Komo, LIT Studio; Denzel Patterson, Central Bank of Boone County; and Megan Steen, Burrell Behavioral Health. VAC also had three board members end their terms: Lloyd Montgomery, who retired from Shelter Insurance; Chris Rosskopf, of Central Bank of Boone County; and Denise Whitworth, of Simmons Bank.

SCHMIDT

KOEDEL

PAT T E R S O N

COMOMAG.COM

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CELEBRATIONS

Who Runs the Business World?

Women, That’s Who. The Missouri Women’s Business Center continues pushing forward.

BY JULES N. GRAEBNER

A

ccording to the United States Census Bureau, roughly only 33% of businesses are owned by women. Luckily, thanks to organizations like the Missouri Women’s Business Center, these numbers are on the rise.

A program of Central Missouri Community Action, the MoWBC is a nonprofit that empowers women to become business owners or assists those who already are.

“We provide business development assistance to women who would like to start or grow a business through free, one-on-one coaching and training,” says Jessie Yankee, director of the MoWBC. “We work with basically anybody — from somebody who just has an idea to somebody who has been in business

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for 20 years who just needs some help pivoting in this new world. A lot of what we do is just being their advocate and being their accountability partner to help them keep the goals that they set themselves or with us.”

Jessie and the MoWBC team help their clients in a multitude of ways to support them along their journeys. However, money makes the world go round, and Jessie says that one of the most important ways the MoWBC supports their clients is by helping secure capital.

“We really help the clients that would never be able to go into a regular bank and just walk in and say, ‘I need a loan.’ Most of the businesses we work with don’t need a lot of capital.

Like, maybe they just need $10,000 dollars to

buy some equipment or get a great website, things like that,” Jessie says, explaining that many MoWBC clients need non-traditional capital — not bank loans — to start a business. “Non-traditional capital can look like using a revolving loan fund or microloans. We’re a trustee for another nonprofit called KIVA, which is a great product because it has 0% interest and they don’t base it on credit, which is unheard of. We look at all types of things like that and we are really growing in that area.”

Jessie says that the problem of capital is a prime example of the kinds of obstacles MoWBC clients can face. “The real key of what we’re doing is trying to remove any barriers that exist for a woman to build the business she

June 2016 Missouri Women’s Business Center opens.

November 2018 The MoWBC holds the first annual Women Who Own It Awards, where exceptional businesswomen are nominated and recognized for their hard work.

December 2018 The MoWBC launches the ASPIRE MO program, a 20-week entrepreneurship program for women in correctional facilities.

July 2019 The MoWBC becomes a KIVA trustee, creating more opportunities for much-needed business capital.

July 2020 The MoWBC expands and adds five new business coaches to their roster.

April 2021 The MoWBC hosts its first virtual women’s business pitch competition, where women pitch their businesses for a chance to win up to $5,000.

June 2021 The MoWBC celebrates five years.

Left to right, back row: Sherry Major, Adonica Coleman, Sarah Cyr, Shaunda Hamilton; Left to right, front row: Sarah Fuller, Jennifer Schenck, Jessie Yankee

wants to build, whether that’s capital, or hiring, or anything else that might come up,” she explains.

“This is what we do.”

Every single coach at the MoWBC, in addition to having prior experience, is currently running a business themselves.

“I think that’s really essential to what we’re doing. We’re not just people who have gotten some degree. We have lived the entrepreneurial life and we face a lot of the same challenges our clients do,” Jessie says. “We also just bring an immense amount of different experiences. We have one coach who has been a restaurant owner for 15 years, and she handles all of our food clients — she’s amazing. I deal with real estate stuff. Another one of our coaches has a lot of logistical and operations experience. It is amazing, the team we’ve got right now.”

In the entrepreneurial scene in Mid-Missouri, MoWBC has become a pillar. “I would say that we have been a really big catalyst for other resources coming into town,” Jessie says. “For example, we really work to make sure that our clients are informed of things like [business] relief during the pandemic or other things like that. We produce better prepared, more financially stable clients that are starting businesses in our community.”

The program is funded by the Small Business Administration, which gives the MoWBC a sense of stability that aligns with their mission. “These programs, like the MoWBC, exist because the federal government wants to help drive economic development. It’s a nice thing to see tax dollars going to something that is really positive for the community,” Jessie says.

Currently, they’re in the process of opening a new business development center that will focus

on assisting underserved communities. The new building will have many helpful features, such as working spaces and a free resource closet, something that Jessie says is especially important for new business owners on a tight budget.

If you are interested in lending a hand with the MoWBC, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities to go around.

“Everybody has something to offer because everyone that volunteers or teaches a class has unique experiences,” Jessie says. “Volunteering to teach one of our classes or to be a guest speaker or a mentor — we absolutely love having accountants and attorneys that will spend time with us. And, of course, we always need financial partners. At the end of the day, we’re a nonprofit and we need sponsors for our programs.”

This June, the MoWBC celebrated five years of helping women build businesses. “Before I took this job, I ran my own business for seven years. The resources did not exist in the same way that we provide at the Missouri Women’s Business Center,” Jessie remembers. “All the time, I think about what it would have been like to have a MoWBC coach during that period of time.”

After experiencing the difficulties of being a small business owner firsthand, Jessie says that the biggest impact that the MoWBC has made on the community is simple: “Women running businesses are not alone anymore.”

MISSOURI WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER 500 E. WALNUT ST., STE. 103 (573) 818-2980 MOWBC.ORG

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VOICES: BUSINESS UPDATE

Finding the Good Notes Jon W. Poses recalls the origins of the "We Always Swing" Jazz Series in Columbia.

BY JON W. POSES

J

ames Williams, the late, wonderful pianist and educator, figured measurably in planting my jazz seeds, which have now long since flowered.

Three-quarters of my 36 jazz-involved years have centered on the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series, now a 27-season, independently run, financially stable, all-jazz, community project.

I continue to enjoy this quite unexpectedly wonderful jazz life. My jazz beginnings date to 1976, when I was a 23-year-old traveling through Europe.

Grammy winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, in her sole Jazz Series appearance, I attended the Montreux Jazz Festival, picking up pictured here with bassist Paul Sikivie on Novemberr 17, 2017. Photo by Joel Anderson. trash nightly in exchange for free entrance the following day. It was there, in Switzerland, where my tance, which speaks volumes about the state of jazz management and musical sensibilities received an overhaul thanks to the likes of Sun Ra, booking. For 10 years, between 1985 and 1995, I arranged numerous 10Clark Terry, Joanne Brackeen, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, and so many othday to month-long coast-to-coast tours that took me across the United ers, all of whom I heard for the fi rst time.

States, to Europe, and to Canada.

JAZZ SWINGS INTO COMO

I arrived in COMO in August 1978, receiving a magazine and print graduate degree from the Missouri School of Journalism. Between 1980 and 1985, my CV included freelance journalism, volunteering at KOPN and KBIA, working as an assistant instructor at the various local institutions of higher learning, and also bartending and hawking music at Streetside Records.

In September 1985, just three months removed from the “new” Murry’s opening and still 10 years prior to the Jazz Series’ birth, James, who I had profi led for Downbeat Magazine, served as the eatery’s fi rst nationally known jazz musician to perform there.

When James, who often labeled his occupation “serious fun,” left Columbia and returned to New York, I didn’t realize I had just entered the jazz profession. It only took only a few days following the pianist’s departure before phone calls arrived from some of jazz’s most accomplished musicians — many of whom I had by then seen perform. You simply don’t expect the vocalist Jon Hendricks to call you and say, “I got your number from James Williams. He said you produce concerts in Missouri.”

Thus began a circuitous jazz journey that continues today. Within a few months, I had business cards that featured the current Jazz Series logo and read “National Pastimes Productions - Artist representation, management and touring.” I never looked to represent musicians. Williams set things in motion and artists contacted me looking for assis-

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FORGING A SCENE Frequently, I incorporated Columbia performances into tours. They predominantly took place at Murry’s, but also, in partnership with the restaurant, at The Blue Note and other larger venues such as Jesse Auditorium, where, for instance, saxophonist Sonny Rollins performed. It was the only time he’s been here.

Almost as much as the music, I enjoyed meeting and befriending scores of people working within the jazz community, which is what jazz is at its heart. It’s a cottage industry with very few degrees of separation. To this day, I count among my friends numerous musicians as well as fellow presenters and band directors, record company people, and media people — journalists covering artists and people on the PR and promotions side of things.

In fall 1994, the sands shifted. I hit a wall; when not road managing, I was spending hours and chunks of money on the phone setting up tours. I was doing this all before cell phones, unlimited minutes, and high-speed internet existed.

By now, Murry’s had established itself as one of Columbia’s go-to eateries and presented jazz every Saturday. A decade after Williams played there, the restaurant had “hosted” — as their wall décor suggests — a who’s who of important present-day artists. A core jazz audience began to develop here in Mid-Missouri; a monthly calendar and an accompanying snail-mail list followed.

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BUSINESS UPDATE

"Jazz is not just music — it's a way of life, it's a way of being, a way of thinking."

— Nina Simone

Saxophonist Bobby Watson has multiple Jazz Series appearances. Seen here with bassist Peter Washington at Murry’s for special New Year’s Eve concert on December 31, 2010. Photo by Charles Baerwald

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COLUMBIA'S TIMELINE OF SWING

SEPTEMBER 24, 1995: The “We Always Swing” Jazz Series, under the National Pastimes Productions banner, launches its inaugural season with six concerts. The first budget: $31,000. The concert, a 75th birthday tribute to Charlie Parker, draws 242 people in 1,700-capacity Jesse Auditorium and loses $12,000. “I thought the Jazz Series was born and died on the same day,” Jon Poses says.

APRIL 28, 1996: The one-person organization finishes the first season with $18,000 in ticket revenue and receives additional contributions of $6,500, resulting in a $6,500 loss.

MARCH 30, 1999: The Jazz Series receives IRS standing as a 501(c)(3) not-forprofit corporation, administered by “We Always Swing,” Inc. JULY 1, 1999: The Jazz Series is now governed by a board of directors, with Jon Poses as volunteer executive director. The fifth season includes educational activities and produces nine concerts. Season ticket holders: 35.

JULY 1, 2000: The Jazz Series annual budget reaches $130,000. The organization produces its first 10-concert season. Season ticket holders: 54.

APRIL 28, 2001: “A Night of Jazz & Baseball,” an original Jazz Series fundraising concept, features sportscaster Bob Costas, filmmaker Ken Burns, scholar and author Gerald Early, and former major league baseball players Don Newcombe, Orlando Cepeda, Tommy Davis, and Carmen Fanzone. Event also features a nine-piece ensemble

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Benny Green, the one-time Oscar Peterson protégé, performs with then up-andcoming vocalist Veronica Swift on March 10, 2019. Photo by Charles Baerwald.

under the direction of pianist James Williams. Gross receipts: $135,000. Attendance: 800.

DECEMBER 31, 2005: NPR sends a crew to Columbia to include a Jazz Series special New Year’s Eve concert at Murry’s with Grammy-nominated vocalist René Marie as part of public radio’s “Toast of the Nation,” a coast-to-coast broadcast heard on 165 public radio stations.

FEBRUARY 10, 2009: The Jazz Series receives $30,000 NEA Jazz Masters Live! Grant to present world premiere of new music commission from Bob Brookmeyer for the New York-based, 18-piece Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. The orchestra performs “Suite For Three” at Missouri Theatre, attended by 900 people.

JULY 1, 2012: The Jazz Series moves to its present location, 21 N. Tenth St., signing a 15-year lease.

JANUARY 1, 2013: The Jazz Series logo (“The Swinging Saxophonist”) and “We Always Swing” become registered trademarks.

JULY 1, 2017: The Jazz Series enjoys its most successful financial year to date, reaching $357,000 in revenue including $146,000 in ticket revenue. Sponsorships, grants, foundation, and advertising revenue combined top $130,000.

Individual donations exceed $80,000 for the first time. Season ticket holders: 140. Number of events: 35.

JULY 1, 2019/JUNE 30, 2020: The Jazz Series celebrates its 25th anniversary season with a special “retrospective,” anticipating 12 subscription concerts and three special events. Concerts feature performers who have appeared previously. The arrival of the pandemic ends the season on March 1, 2020.

Five concerts and other activi-

ties, including annual “Jazz Appreciation Month,” are canceled.

During the next 18 months, the Jazz Series looses $150,000-plus in ticket revenue. The organization is buoyed by revenue from the PPP, EIDL, and Shuttered Venues Operator Grant. More than 600 individual donations, totaling $127,000 — the most in the organization’s history — arrive from 33 different states.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020: The Jazz Series produces eight monthly limited-capacity, livestreamed concerts through May 2021 and virtual educational activities with Columbia Public Schools. Ticket revenue: $11,165.

AUGUST 15, 2021: The Jazz Series announces full slate of 2021/2022 concerts, but delays start of season until late October, deciding to offer three concerts in the fall and nine more from February to June 2022.

Though I have kept my hand in artist management over the years, I realized that I’d rather receive than send contracts, presenting artists rather than touring them. The opportunity to create a presenting organization arrived; sustaining it was a whole other matter.

Among the primary challenges: Logistically, how do you offer a community a substantial all-jazz project and make it permanent in the 300th market, with a population at the time of 75,000 people, in a locale where performers' name recognition, beyond the few, hovered somewhere between non-existent and “a little bit”? Throw into the equation not having a readily available venue to use. Just how would art and commerce balance?

IMPROVISING A JAZZ SERIES Jazz at its best is dynamic, fluid, and continually moving forward. For 27 seasons, philosophically speaking, the Jazz Series has leaned toward the art side, but we recognize that producing a quality product requires funds.

The organization realized early on the odds of having a self-sustaining project based primarily on ticket sales would be an impossibility in the Mid-Missouri market. That’s why, from inception, the organization, which would wait four years to become one officially, adopted a nonprofit model, one that sought outside support from a myriad of sources. Businesses that donated could take a tax-deduction as an advertising expense, but individuals could not, nor could the organization seek grants from arts agencies or foundations.

Programmatically, the project started and remains decidedly modern, presenting post–World War II jazz right up to present-day styles. It doesn’t mean there can’t be big bands appearing, but it does mean they won’t perform compositions from the socalled Big Band Era. (The forthcoming appearance by the Mingus Big Band, featuring the work of influential bassist and composer Charles Mingus, is one such case.) And the organization does pay honor to earlier icons, but it does so knowing that said musicians recognized their need to continue to advance the art form. Age is but a number.

One of the key objectives of the Jazz Series has been to introduce audiences to this music and then to advance people’s ability to relate to it. From inception, the organization sought to alter COMO’s cultural landscape and increase awareness of and appreciation for “America’s Gift To The World.” With the Jazz Series as the catalyst, that has happened.

The home-grown jazz musicians have more

Working

“Jazz tends to be more prevalent in big urban centers and less so everywhere else. Yet there are oases around our country. One such oasis is in Mid-Missouri: the ‘We Always Swing’ Jazz Series” — Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, a five-time “We Always Swing” Jazz Series participant

opportunities; MU’s Jazz Studies Department is flourishing.

While nothing is taken for granted, and the work is never done, the Jazz Series has demonstrated staying power. When it surfaced, it was the only project of its kind in a 100mile radius east to west and 300 miles north to south. It started as one of fewer than 10 free-standing, all-jazz projects in a market of our size in the country. Nearly three decades later, that is still the case.

The jazz audience has steadily grown. Jazz is a niche music; it has been ever since it lost the title of “popular music” circa 1955. Those attending Jazz Series concerts and events embrace the music more easily and with more confidence; friends have encouraged their friends to attend. People who travel elsewhere often seek out jazz performances. Upon visiting major metro areas, they recognize names of players they have enjoyed right here in Co-

VOICES: BUSINESS UPDATE

lumbia. There are those who have attended concerts and fi rst knew none-to-little about the music but have now become ardent fans and supporters. Exposure is the key, and people’s willingness to allow themselves to be exposed reflects success. Th is is why the organization created its education component — named after Mr. James Williams — and this is why we now have a 9,000 LP and CD collection accessible to the public daily. To date, the Jazz Series, in partnership with the Columbia Public School District, has exposed some 40,000 students to in-school Jazz Series activities.

Like every other arts organization, business, and all of us individually, the pandemic wreaked havoc upon operations. After a “layoff ” between March and September 2020, the Jazz Series returned with eight monthly limited in-person and virtual programs — concerts held at its “home away from home,” Murry’s. The virtual Annual Children’s Concert had 19 of Columbia’s 21 elementary schools participating.

The organization, which operates with two full-time and two part-time paid staff members, continues to do what jazz does best: improvise. During the 15 non-concert months, close to $150,000 in ticket revenue vanished.

Fortunately, a tremendous amount of generous individual gifts helped close that gap somewhat; more than 600 individuals, coastto-coast, contributed $127,000, a $20,000 uptick from fiscal year 2020. Additionally, the organization received support via SBA funding sources — through forgiven PPP and EIDL funds and through the Shuttered Venues Operator Grant program. Such combined support allows the organization to move forward with the (delayed) 2021/2022 season, which will feature just three concerts in the fall but offer nine performances from early February to late June 2022. Ironically, with the organization’s calendar turning each July 1, COVID-19 has turned what was a 10-month project into a year-round affair.

Jon W. Poses serves as executive and artistic director of the “We Always Swing”® Jazz Series.

“WE ALWAYS SWING”® JAZZ SERIES 21 N. TENTH ST. (573) 449-3009 INFO@WEALWAYSSWING.ORG WEALWAYSSWING.ORG

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Working

PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW

La Toya Stevens Marketing and Communications Director, Heart of Missouri United Way PHOTO BY ANTHONY JINSON

JOB DESCRIPTION

My role is to advance equity, increase brand awareness, and raise funds through strategic communications and marketing. Th is includes but is not limited to training internal and external stakeholders to advance equity, making inclusive design decisions that uplift marginalized communities by countering stereotypical imagery, and contributing to the organization’s event planning and resource development efforts.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Fun fact: I am self-taught. Although I have a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and a Bachelor of Science in paralegal studies, my current career in communications is the result of following my passion for creativity, design, and communication. Simply put — I learned by doing.

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HOMETOWN

Palm Bay, Florida.

YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA

10 years.

QUOTE YOU LIVE BY

“Take care of yourself. Maintain your peace.

Protect your energy.” — Me. FAVORITE VOLUNTEER/ COMMUNITY ACTIVITY

It’s always a great feeling when I get the opportunity to help small businesses and nonprofits in the startup phase develop their marketing and communications strategy.

FAVORITE RECENT PROJECT

I absolutely love history! Recently, I had the opportunity to share the history of Black people in Columbia in the Bicentennial Issue of COMO Magazine, and United Way Worldwide published my blog post on the history of Juneteenth.

A COLUMBIA BUSINESSPERSON YOU ADMIRE AND WHY

There are very few women in marketing to look up to. For me, that person is [COMO publisher] Erica Pefferman. I fi rst met Erica when she served as a volunteer on the United Way Board of Directors and we worked together on the marketing committee. Erica has shown me what a woman can do and how a woman can lead in this field. My hope is that I can be an inspiration to women who look like me and want a career in this field as well.

WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR JOB

At Heart of Missouri United Way, I view my role as one of an educator. It is my job to take what we do and make it consumable.

However, it’s more than just what we do — it’s why. Why do we fi ght to improve lives?

Why do we fi ght to advance equity? Why do we fundraise? Why do we need the help of people in our community? Why United Way? Sure, being able to answer those questions helps us as an organization, but it also helps our community.

WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

United Way has a long history of fi ghting for members of our community who typically don’t have a voice. Success

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isn’t linear, and as an organization, we recognize that success looks different for everyone. We fi ght to ensure everyone in our community has access to the support needed to thrive. United Way advances meaningful change with support from our people in the community.

Program. Next, I’m really excited for the opportunity offered by the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis to share my knowledge through the workshop “Advocacy & Allyship: Establishing a Racial Equity Framework that Goes Beyond HR” on November 4, 2021.

IF YOU WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, YOU WOULD

BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED IN BUSINESS

In an alternate universe where I sought fame over service to my community, I would be a singer whose voice was familiar around the world! All jokes aside, I would earn my law degree and advance equity through legal consulting.

WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION

Marketing and communications is so much more than graphic design, social media, and press releases. To be effective in my role, I have to be a good listener. I have to understand people’s hesitations and fears, perceptions, and opinions — and I have to communicate through the dissonance to resolution.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE FACING YOUR INDUSTRY

The nonprofit industry relies on the generosity of individual donors, and we’re charged with solving society’s most challenging problems. As an industry, we need to move away from a model that reinforces the mindset of transactional and colonial philanthropy, where the rich and privileged simply donate money for poor people. We need to shift to a model of philanthropy that no longer focuses on what’s wrong with people, but instead recognizes that the root of a person’s experience lies in what happened to them.

Th is will require a shift in how we as an industry communicate to our donors about what we do and why we do it. When our work is seen not as saving people from themselves, but providing the tools and supports needed to navigate systems and remove systemic barriers to success, we will see an increase in fundraising. More importantly, we will begin to see systemic changes that will improve our community.

It will take time, but it is doable.

YOUR NEXT PROFESSIONAL GOAL

I have a couple. First, completing the United Way Worldwide Fellowship

Most mistakes in business can be repaired and damage can be minimized if you’re willing to acknowledge you made a mistake and take responsibility. It’s also the fastest way to restore trust when you fail to live up to your brand standard (personal or professional).

HOW YOU WANT TO IMPACT THE COLUMBIA COMMUNITY

As cliché as this may sound, I really just want to leave Columbia better than it was when I got here.

GREATEST STRENGTH

My ability to establish rapport with people.

GREATEST WEAKNESS

Sometimes, I fi nd myself giving more of myself than I have to give. Real talk — I have to be better at setting boundaries and saying no. I’ve made a lot of progress though, and I want to celebrate that.

WHAT YOU DO FOR FUN

If you know me, you know it’s travel. It has become such a big part of my self-care routine. It’s fun to see new places and spend time in solitude or with family and friends.

FAMILY

I’m a single mother of four amazing sons: David, 21; Marcus, 16; Matthew, 15; and Nathaniel, 12.

FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA

Hands down, my bedroom. It is my sanctuary from the chaos of life.

ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF

In addition to my four sons, I am also proud of choosing myself and going to counseling to get the tools I need to manage anxiety and depression so I can live with good mental health.

MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT

I’m terrified of drive-thru car washes.

OUR TEAM IS YOUR TEAM ESTATE PLANNING

PROBATE & TRUST

FAMILY LAW

Emily Camden

Katie Jackson

Nathan Jones Attorney

Rob Temple Attorney

Alyysha Cox

Ernie Ueligger Attorney

Here to provide excellent service.

WORKER’S COMP

2412 Forum Blvd, Suite 101, Columbia | 573-874-1122 | Fax: 573-340-1465 | JandULaw.com The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.

PERSONAL INJURY

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COMBINED EFFORTS Columbia nonprofits work together in supporting our community.

BY TOM STRINI

M

any of the 142 Columbia-area nonprofits focus on poverty and social services. We can’t write about all of them, but we can highlight three important — and three very different — organizations.

In terms of budget and reach, the Mid-Missouri Assistance League, the Voluntary Action Center, and Central Missouri Community Action rank as small, medium, and large organizations re-

spectively. Each plays a distinct role, and each makes significant impact on the lives of Mid-Missourians in need.

Though all three are well-established pillars of the community, their histories and the full scope of their work are not common public knowledge. But they should be. Knowing more about these organizations can help potential clients and donors, as well as the public at large, understand the missions and structures of these groups.

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Assistance League of Columbia Y

ou might not know the Assistance League, but everyone in Columbia knows Upscale Retail.

Just before 10:00 on a muggy Thursday morning in August, customers lined up to enter the pleasantly appointed resale shop in the Broadway Shopping Center, a few doors south of the Gerbes at Ash and Clinkscales.

Since Upscale Resale opened in 1999, its sales revenue has covered the larger part of the funds and goods with which the Assistance League helps area citizens, women, and children. The pandemic depressed revenues to some extent in 2020, as Upscale Resale had to close entirely for a couple of months and then had a period of limited hours. The store, though, has bounced back quickly. And it is not the league’s only source of revenue. Assistance League also participates in ComoGives, the umbrella fundraising and grants program. Individual and business donors, notably Shelter Insurance, also contribute.

In typical recent years, the league has disbursed $500,000 to $600,000 annually for the benefit of distressed fellow citizens. The assistance is indirect; the league supports other agencies that work directly with clients. In many cases, the assistance takes the form of physical goods — diapers, prom dresses, job interview clothing, school backpacks filled with school supplies, and so on. The Assistance League does not decide which clients get which aid; that’s up to the client-facing agencies, which, by IRS rules, must be nonprofit charities.

The school supplies effort is part of a national initiative, Operation School Bell, carried out by the 120 Assistance League chapters across the United States. The Columbia unit, founded in 1991 by Donna Beckett and Betty McClure, became an official chapter in 1994.

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The local league also funds annual $2,000 scholarships for about 25 female students split between Columbia College and MU. The league does not take applications or select the scholars, instead donating to the schools, who then award the scholarships through their normal procedures, with a tilt toward military veterans and education and nursing majors.

The Assistance League currently has formal operation share arrangements with 10 other local nonprofits. One of them, True North of Columbia, a shelter and comprehensive aid program for victims of domestic and sexual violence, has been a league partner since 1998, when True North was known as The Shelter.

True North remains one of the chapter’s top priorities.

The Columbia Assistance League chapter has about 330 volunteers who log well over 40,000 combined hours annually.

During my Thursday-morning tour, dozens of volunteers could be seen working retail, receiving, sorting, cleaning, folding, labeling, tagging, assembling gift packages, and stored merchandise in the cavernous warehouse space in the back of the building.

The shop sells no new merchandise; all the clothing and household items are donated. Corcoran noted that the community has been generous to Upscale Resale in two Assistance League of Columbia ways: First by donating many quality items, and second by being loyal customers.

Some of those quality items end up with clients of cooperating agencies. The league works closely with Voluntary Action Center, which has many clients who are coming out of crisis and seeking a job or starting work after long periods of unemployment. Upscale Resale usually has a pretty good stock of office wear, so the

league sends vouchers to VAC, and VAC sends clients to free Upscale Resale shopping sprees. The back-to-school kids’ clothing, all new, is purchased largely with proceeds from Upscale Resale sales. Again, the schools, not the league, select the students.

On that Thursday morning, the women worked within an atmosphere of cheerful camaraderie and beehive energy. They appeared to like both the work and one another.

Kathy Corcoran moved to Columbia from Washington, D.C., because her daughter had gone to college and then settled here.

(Grandkids will make such a move happen.) She is a retired physicians’ office manager.

Phyllis Stoecklein moved to Columbia 20 years ago, after retiring as an elementary school principal in the Ferguson-Florissant School District in suburban St. Louis.

“I knew no one in Columbia,” Phyllis said. She came into Upscale Resale to donate some clothes, and a volunteer was made.

“One of the other volunteers said something a few years ago,” she said. “You know it’s the right thing to do when it’s below zero in December and you know that some little kid has gloves on his hands because of us.”

“Because of COVID, we had to sort and package the clothes for the school kids, and then the schools distributed the packages,” Kathy said. “But before that, the little kids would come in on the bus and we would help them.

They had a shopping spree, and they were so cute and so grateful. These are the little things that keep you going.”

Upscale Resale and Chapter Offices 1729 W. Broadway, Ste. 1A (573) 445-3848 assistanceleague.org/mid-missouri

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Voluntary Action Center T

he staff, board and donors of the Voluntary Action Center focus on the immediate needs of financially stressed citizens of Boone County. Many of those needs are physical and no less crucial for being mundane.

Heather Stewart, VAC’s director of development, told the story of a retired man with diabetes. He lacked the $7 to replace the dead battery in his glucose monitor. VAC found a way to solve the problem.

“That’s the sort of thing that defines us — crisis,” she says.

Heather has worked in several management, marketing, communications, and event planning positions in Columbia over the past 20 years. Just a few weeks after she joined VAC, COVID-19 sent her packing to work from home. She’s just now getting back to the office.

“The biggest pivot for all of us was learning to do a lot of the work by phone,” she says. “We had to get a new phone system.

We had to learn to provide the same level of care and service in a completely different format.”

The silver lining: VAC staffers did learn to provide that service via phone, and that knowledge will stick when the pandemic ends. In the past, many clients were walkins and might sit in the lobby for hours to get assistance. Now, all meetings are by appointment via phone, and many services are settled remotely. That’s a plus for clients with limited transportation options for getting to the VAC office at 403A Vandiver Dr. On the phone or in person, the mission stays the same: “To help low-income individuals and families bridge the gaps between crisis and stability and improve quality of life in Boone County.”

Crisis comes in many forms: dead batteries; re-entry after incarceration; homelessness; unemployment; dropping out of

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school for lack of funds; shut-off of power during winter cold or withering summer heat. To a parent, a hungry child is a crisis.

Housing, health, and employment have been the three top-level priorities for VAC since its founding in 1971. Those three things are, of course, closely related. For example: Many kids rely on school lunch programs for a significant part of their diet. When school lunch ends for the summer, VAC runs a Lunch in the Park program to make sure they get at least one square meal.

Summer also activates VAC’s air conditioner exchange program, formerly run

by Columbia Water and Light. Low-income customers of Columbia and Boone County utilities can exchange old, failing, inefficient air conditioners for new ones.

VAC also distributes fans, with Lowe’s as a partner.

For many years, VAC has brightened the winter holidays for its clients by collecting and distributing toys and other gift and food items. The emphasis is shifting, now, to cash donations and vouchers so clients can do their own shopping and make their own choices.

VAC has a staff of 18, including part-timers. The budget, which rose steadily in recent years ($507,000 in 2011, $774,000 in 2019), jumped to over $1 million in 2020.

Priorities shift with the times. Housing took prominence in pandemic times, and VAC and its donors responded. In 2019, three donors contributed a total of $101,000 for housing. In 2020, 13 donors contributed $405,500. Heather notes that many donors signed over their federal stimulus checks to the organization.

That enabled VAC to hire additional housing specialists to get people sheltered quickly in emergency financial situations — that’s “rapid rehousing” in the trade.

Housing assistance requires case management and eligibility screening. That takes expertise and staffing. (Hygiene pack distribution, as an example in contrast, requires none of that.)

“Also, it’s just really hard to find low-income housing that isn’t really crappy,” Heather says.

She estimated that VAC assisted about 5,000 Missourians, many with emergency housing, in 2020. Some of that involved temporary placement in hotels and motels.

“We’ve seen COVID crises combining with ongoing financial crises for many people,” Heather says. “We’re serving about the same number of people, but those people have greater needs.” They are also seeing people who’ve been middle class their entire lives finding themselves in sudden crisis.

The City of Columbia, Boone County, and United Way of Central Missouri all fund VAC, but private donors anchor the group. In February, Heather signed on as VAC’s first staff development director, in order to boost private giving.

Voluntary Action Center has made a point of close cooperation with other social service nonprofits. That’s a good thing in itself, and it should help with fund-raising.

“Donors like to give to cooperative organizations,” she says. “They don’t like siloed entities. Many of the clients work with more than one nonprofit. They can’t get the wrap-around services they need unless we cooperate.”

VAC cooperates not only with the somewhat smaller Assistance League, but also with the vastly larger Central Missouri Community Action.

Heather says that VAC is built to cope with urgent, short-term needs, not long-term maintenance and life-building. VAC refers clients to CMCA for that. VAC and Assistance League work closely together on the immediate needs of clients.

“Assistance League has a diaper bank, and we have the infrastructure to get the diapers out to the parents,” she says. “So we don’t duplicate efforts. There’s a lot of sharing and referral among nonprofits in Columbia, much more than you see in most places.”

Voluntary Action Center 403A Vandiver Dr. (573) 874-2273 vacmo.org

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Central Missouri Community Action C

ommunity Action dates to 1964, as part of the Economic Opportunity Act, the key piece of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. The act created VISTA, Head Start, Youth Corps, Upward Bound, collegiate work study, the Foster Grandparents program and, eventually, legal aid poverty law offices, among other efforts.

Johnson recruited Sargent Shriver to run the anti-poverty effort. Community Action, more than any other thrust of the War on Poverty, embodies Shriver’s belief that the poor must not only occupy a seat at the table, but also wield a bit of a budget and a measure of power to organize and plan independent action.

Many Great Society and War on Poverty initiatives withered as the Vietnam War consumed the nation’s resources and the Civil Rights Movement prompted reactionary responses to anything promoting racial or economic equality. During this era, poverty rights lawyers began suing local officials for discrimination in housing, employment, and education.

But Community Action has survived — and evolved.

More than 1,000 chapters, most funded through federal block grants to states, are active in the United States. Central Missouri Community Action is one of them.

In 1965, each Missouri county had its own Community Action agency. Over the years, leadership has consolidated. The City of St. Louis and St. Louis County still have their own chapters, but 17 other Community Action agencies cover multiple counties throughout the state. CMCA, based in Columbia, serves Boone, Cooper, Howard, Audrain, Cole, Callaway, Osage, and Moniteau as its core eight counties, and it provides some services to five more.

Head Start, the well-known preschool program for children from low-income fam-

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ilies, is a big part of CMCA. Over $8 million in earmarked federal funding allows CMCA to bring Head Start to all 13 counties.

A “normal” — that is, non-pandemic — CMCA budget would be $17 million to $18 million. Emergency COVID-19 funding juiced that to $22 million in the 2020 fiscal year, which ended on September 30.

CMCA has an extensive mission, many initiatives, and a broad reach. It addresses emergency needs and devises and executes long-term plans for client families and entire communities. CMCA must think small and think big.

“The ultimate goal is moving people out of poverty,” says Darin Preis, CMCA executive director. “Stabilizing their situation is an important first step. But it’s not the last step.”

CMCA seeks to establish long-term relationships with client families and build on their strengths so they can, in Darin’s words, “walk out of poverty.”

A cohesive theory of change and a whole-family approach guide efforts throughout the organization. CMCA coaches are trained to guide families toward more extensive and productive social connections, including training in development of leadership and relationship skills as well as civic engagement and community involvement. CMCA supports improved family well-being through instruction in health, cognitive development, and parenting skills. The group also provides economic stability rooted in sustainable financial practices, career-level employment, safe and stable housing, enhanced education, and building of assets.

A family that enters the CMCA orbit through one program — Head Start, say — opens a door to many other programs, too. A coach could then direct that parent to a housing voucher program, or Skil-

lUp employment training, or a USDA home loan program for rural residents. Entrepreneurial women can join the the Missouri Women’s Business Center, a CMCA program partly funded by the Small Business Administration. Help is out there, but most people aren’t aware of it, or have no idea of how to get to it. CMCA’s professional coaches guide them to the help they need.

Many people struggling with poverty feel isolated from and powerless within their communities. CMCA’s community organizing programs welcome citizens from all economic levels into their ranks. The prosperous learn to understand the stresses and needs of those in poverty. Low-income participants learn best practices for serving on boards, engaging in committee work and taking action to improve their communities. CMAC has placed professional community organizers in all eight core counties. The Community Action Teams — or CATS — that form around the organizers address a variety of community needs on a hyper-local level.

Government money always comes with strings attached, and these strings restrict how the money may be spent and how to account for it after it’s spent. Take federal weatherization funding, for example.

“We can use that money to bring a team to a home and do an energy audit,” Darin says. “We can find all the leaks and recommend ways to make the home more energy efficient. But if we find a giant hole in the roof, we can’t use the federal funding to fix it. We have to raise private money for that.”

Though CMCA receives substantial federal funding and a fair amount of state funding, it is not a government agency. It is a private nonprofit. As such, the group has increased its fundraising efforts to expand and enhance its services generally and to have more latitude in its actions.

Darin says that civic groups — Rotary, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, and so on — have always given CMCA occasional donations. But private funding became more of a need

for the group in the aftermath of a tornado in Jefferson City in May of 2019.

Preis said that donors turned to CMCA because they knew it was stable and capable of helping.

“Now, banks are taking an interest,” he says, “as well they should. Families that come out of poverty establish bank accounts, buy houses, and take out mortgage loans.”

CMCA is also raising its profile and participating in more public-facing fundraisers, too. It is one of six nonprofit beneficiaries of this year’s Tigers on the Prowl gala auction, which took place on September 14.

CMCA commits to adopting, adapting, and applying data-based measures to analyze outcomes of its work.

Darin says that accountability for government dollars mostly has to do with “crossing Ts and dotting Is” and thorough accounting practices. Regulators want to know where the money went, but they never ask how many families were lifted out of poverty. They don’t evaluate outcomes.

Darin very much wants to evaluate outcomes, and not just anecdotally.

Hence the adoption of the "self-sufficiency matrix."

“This will be the beginning of a new way of showing the value of intervention and improving our techniques,” Darin says.

The matrix tool quantifies at five levels — from “thriving” down to “in crisis” — of economic self-sufficiency in housing, access to services, child care, clothing, education, employment stability, and 19 other dimensions.

That generates a lot of numbers, but the people CMCA serves are not numbers. When someone signs on to a program, they become CMCA members.“ They’re not cases,” Darin says.

“They’re human beings.”

Central Missouri Community Action 807 N. Providence Rd. (573) 443-8706 cmca.us

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OCTOBER 2021

The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter brings people together with one message: You are not alone.

BY MARY CAITLYN POLOVICH

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“I’m always in walk mode,” says Chris Cottle, walk manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter, “so when you get into the client services, programs, and reflecting back on my story — it’s hard. But it’s always worth it.”

Chris became involved with the Alzheimer’s Association in Columbia in 2012. His father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 52, and Chris got involved with the Columbia committee for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s that year. Two years later, he became the event chair and was offered a job as walk manager in September of 2019.

“It’s so hard to watch someone you love slip away mentally while physically looking the same. There are a lot of changes that go along with that,” Chris says. “Once you lose a loved one to this disease, you don’t really want anything to do with it. But one of the things my mom and I decided was to stay in it and be involved. We wanted to use our story and let people know that there are other people out there going through it or that have been through it — and that they will be OK.” The Alzheimer’s Association's aim is to provide as many resources as possible for families affected by the disease.

“We try to cover all the bases of what someone would go through — who they would need to contact, how to help them, and then, of course, continuing the research and development of new and affordable drugs that are available,” Chris says.

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OCTOBER 2021

WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S 2021 They also provide an online resource center that has tools covering a variety of topics, such as early signs and symptoms and home safety checklists. There is also a 1-800 number that is available 24/7 and staffed by professionals with the goal to get people in contact with a client service representative in their area. The core job of the client services team is to get caretakers or someone affected by Alzheimer's connected with a neurologist or different support groups, depending on what their needs are.

“There can be an overwhelming sense of feeling like you’re on an island by yourself,” Chris explains. “Especially if you’re not in town — it’s tough to travel and get ahold of people. That’s why the 1-800 number is there. They will talk you through any problems for any amount of time. If your loved one is going through an episode, we have tips and tricks to try and help bring people back. Pick up the phone. That’s my biggest piece of advice.”

WALK SEASON

Late August through October is a busy time for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter — walk season. In Missouri, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s takes place across 22 different locations, with the goal of bringing people together and raising money for research and resources for the disease.

“One of the things I can tell you from living and being a caretaker of someone with Alzheimer’s is that it is a full-time job. You can feel very alone,” Chris says. “Walk day provides a sense of community, a place where you can come together, meet new people, and realize that there are other people going through the same thing.”

Walk day is a very special event for those involved. It is a solemn but happy occasion where the community gets together and celebrates what has been accomplished throughout the year, and everyone feels surrounded and supported by the community.

There are typically around 300 to 400 volunteers each year that help with putting together the walk, which is a great show of support for the Alzheimer’s Association and the families affected.

2020 brought its challenges for planning a walk, but the Alzheimer’s Association made huge strides in technology to help connect people during a disconnected year.

“Our software developed a lot to be able to communicate with people better,” Chris says. “We created a Walk to End Alzheimer’s app and had a virtual walk in 2020.

With the app, we were able to do an online opening ceremony, a virtual path for walkers to follow, and virtual sponsor booths so that those who sponsored the walk were still able to interact with the community.”

This year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be held on October 30, 2021, at Stephens Lake Park Amphitheater and will also feature a costume contest.

The walk will go around Stephens Lake, and there will be a short and long track available to walk.

Registration starts at 12 p.m., the opening ceremony is at 1 p.m., and the walk will begin at 1:15 p.m.

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Chris Cottle at ccottle@alz.org COMOMAG.COM

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A standing tradition at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a Promise Garden — a hands-on, mission-focused experience that allows participants to raise flowers representing a promise to remember, honor, care, and fight for those living with Alzheimer’s and for their caregivers. Blue flowers represent those that have Alzheimer’s or dementia. Yellow flowers represent those that are supporting or caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Purple flowers represent those that have lost someone to Alzheimer’s or dementia. Lastly, orange flowers represent those who support the cause and the Alzheimer’s Association’s vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.

In 2020, the presenting sponsor for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Veterans United Home Loans, planted those flowers along the roadway at one of their locations, allowing walkers to drive through and experience the Promise Garden, even though the walk was virtual.

A standard walk day typically involves sponsor booths, an opening ceremony, and a walk, which can either be done on a short or long track that lasts anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour. Afterwards, there are drinks, food, and time for the community to relax. The client services team is also there to provide help or resources to anyone in need.

There’s also The Longest Day fundraiser, which is held in June on the longest day of the year. Th is fundraiser is more of an individual or team effort where people pick an activity to do all day (bowling, cycling, crafting, etc.) and raise support in the process.

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OCTOBER 2021

MONEY RAISED Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States without a cure, and the Alzheimer's Association is the third largest contributor to research funding, behind the United States and Chinese governments.

“All the money raised goes towards research, educational programs and resources, and our client services team” Chris explains.

From the funds, 93 percent of the money stays in the local communities, 3 percent goes to administrative support, and 4 percent goes to national support and research.

“The money raised stays local so we can expand our client services and our programs in the area and serve that specific community,” Chris says. “It is the community who is donating the money, and they’re donating it to help their community.”

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